


Playing For Keeps

by sierralayne



Category: Elite (TV)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, High School, Rivalry, Spain, Teen Romance, elite netflix - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:55:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 19
Words: 29,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23815720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sierralayne/pseuds/sierralayne
Summary: Ander Muñoz wandered off too far one drunken night. And stumbled upon Reina Velazquez, a raven-haired mystery who goes to a rival school. From then on, competitiveness begins to heat up between their two schools. As the games get more twisted and stakes grow higher, who will still have their sanity –- and heart –- intact?
Relationships: Ander Muñoz/Original Female Character
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	1. Secrets

Ander Muñoz had only one mission tonight. He would get pissed drunk, and maybe drugged up too. One way or another, do or die.

And speaking of dying, he probably _would_ get pummeled to death by Guzmán if his oldest friend were to find out about this. Ander usually appreciated Guzmán looking out for him, but this time Ander didn’t need any of his over-protectiveness.

No. Ander would be a lone wolf, just for one night.

Which was why it wasn’t an option for Ander to hit any of the usual haunts for Las Encinas students like Club54 and Kluster. He had to venture farther out, tread unfamiliar grounds, where he wouldn’t be recognized.

“This looks like a good place to start,” Ander murmured to himself as his Uber ride dropped him off and his gaze locked in on the flashing neon lights of a sign that said _Nomad Club_.

Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket, he confidently strolled in through the doors and breathed a sigh of relief when nobody stopped him to check for ID.

“Can I get a glass of whisky on the rocks please?” Ander spoke as he caught the attention of the bartender. “No, wait.”

Ander paused before he continued, “Make that two.”

* * *

After four glasses of whisky and three vodka shots, Ander was ready to move on to a new spot. Thanks to the alcohol buzz, the night had taken on a soft, warm glow. His shoulders, which had been constantly tense for the past week, were finally relaxed.

Ander walked briskly as the chilly evening air enveloped him. Where should his next destination be?

“Oh my God, Kate! I’m not going to do that!”

Ander turned to see two girls around his age brush past him. With their silky long perfect hair with blond highlights, luxurious faux fur coats, sky-high heels and Chanel bags, they reminded him of the majority of his female schoolmates at Las Encinas. Reeking of wealth, haughtiness and a devil-may-care attitude.

The two girls walked ahead and entered a massive five-story black building pulsing with the hectic beats of an electronic dance track. Intrigued, Ander followed suit – but he was stopped by the bouncer.

“ID?” The bouncer asked, bringing his bulky body frame closer to Ander to block his way.

“I’m with them,” Ander quickly said, nodding at the two girls who were inside but standing nearby and lighting up slim cigarette sticks.

The bouncer raised an eyebrow, half-disbelieving. “Kate! Emilia!” he called out. “This guy says he’s with you. Is that true?”

The taller girl peered at Ander. After what seemed like an eternity, she replied with a shrug, “Yeah. Let him in, Hector.”

Ander smiled as Hector the bouncer stepped aside to let him through.

“Thanks,” Ander told the taller girl.

She shrugged again. “You’re not from San Patricio, are you?”

San Patricio. The rival school of Las Encinas. What had Ander gotten himself into?

“Does it matter?” he countered lazily as he reached for his own pack of cigarettes to light up.

“Not to me,” she responded. “But just so you know, this is San Patricio territory. I’d be careful if you’re not one of us. Some people can be.. unfriendly.”

“Thanks for the friendly warning.” Ander smirked, exhaling a puff of cigarette smoke. He was still on a high from the drinks he had at Nomad Club, and he figured he could just fake his confidence. “Can I buy you ladies a drink?”

“Maybe,” the shorter girl finally spoke. She flicked away her cigarette butt and started on a new stick.

“I’ll get a bottle of Moët & Chandon, how about that?” Ander said.

“We like their Ice Imperial,” the shorter girl told him.

Of course. Only the finest champagne for these two girls.

Ander nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

“Reina isn’t here yet.” The taller girl rolled her eyes. “She’s forever late. I’ll just text her to say we’ll be at the bar.”

The two girls led the way and brought Ander through a long walkway lined with subdued purple and blue LED lights. Everything about this club was understated – dark, glossy, cool. Except for its size. It looked like it was converted from a low-density condo building. Ander even spotted a mini swimming pool at one corner of the club.

“Here we are.” The taller girl signaled for the bartender.

Ander made his order and paid. The gleaming white bottle of Moët Ice Imperial arrived shortly after.

As Ander clinked glasses with the two girls, he realized he didn’t know their names – well, not exactly anyway. Which one was Kate, and which one was Emilia? Heck, he didn’t even know the name of this club he was in.

“ _YOU BITCHES_.”

A shrill voice pierced Ander’s ears despite the pounding club music. He turned and saw a raven-haired petite girl standing next to him, her dark eyes flashing with anger.

Shit, was Ander going to be caught in a catfight?

The two girls seemed absolutely unfazed though.

“Reina, you’re finally here,” the shorter girl said. “What took you so long?”

“You don’t want to know. Family stuff,” Reina brushed off the question with a toss of her hair. “More importantly, Emilia, is why the hell you two started drinking without me?!”

Ah, so the shorter girl was Emilia. And that would make Kate the taller girl.

“Calm down, Reina, or you’ll get a heart attack before you’re twenty,” Emilia laughed as Kate grabbed a clean glass from the bar counter and poured champagne for Reina.

“Mm thanks. I need this,” Reina murmured appreciatively, gulping down the entire glass at one go.

She finally took notice of Ander, who had been sipping his glass silently next to her. As a rule, he didn’t like getting involved in girl talk.

“Who are you?” Reina asked bluntly.

“Ander. Nice to meet you... Reina, was it?”

“I didn’t actually ask for your name,” Reina intoned coldly.

“Reina, be nice,” Kate chided her. “He bought the Moët bottle for us.”

Reina scoffed, unimpressed. “As if we couldn’t afford to buy it ourselves.” Then acknowledging the glass she had consumed from, she added, “But anyway... Thanks.”

“It’s nothing,” Ander said. What a feisty one. And he was amazed by how she could go back and forth between red-hot rage to subzero frostiness so effortlessly.

In that instant, Ander decided he would steer clear from Reina. As it was, his life was already chaotic enough.

* * *

“No. Way. No possible way,” Reina breathed, clapping a hand over her mouth. “You’re lying.”

Ander shrugged as he topped up his glass and Reina’s. He caught a glimpse of the time on his phone that was placed on the bar counter – he was shocked to discover that he had been there for over four hours.

“How could you have been a fat kid when you were young? I can’t imagine it,” Reina declared.

“It’s true. I once ate ten burgers in a competition with another fat kid in school,” Ander shared. “I won, and to celebrate, I had two more burgers.”

Reina somehow found this incredibly hilarious and couldn’t stop laughing. Perhaps it was also due to the fact that she and Ander were finishing their third bottle of Ice Imperial. Alcohol made everything funnier.

Ander gazed at her and couldn’t help cracking a smile too. Kate and Emilia had left earlier, but Reina had seemed open to continuing with more drinks and Ander didn’t object. So here they were.

“So now it’s your turn. Tell me a secret,” Ander prompted.

Reina pursed her lips and shook her head. “No, no. I need a juicier secret from you first. Come on.”

Ander ran his fingers through his curls. “Well, I guess there is one thing that I’m deeply ashamed to admit...”

Reina’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “Go on...”

“I have to confess...” Ander paused. “... That I...”

“Yes?”

“... I have no idea what this place is called,” Ander said with a laugh. “Despite having been here for the past four hours.”

Reina punched Ander’s arm hard. “Jerk!”

Ander grinned. “So are you going to tell me or what?”

“You’re such an idiot.” Reina rolled her eyes. “Maison. That’s the club name. It’s the second home of San Patricio students.”

“Thank you for the enlightenment.”

“Drink up.” Reina pointed at Ander’s glass. “As your punishment, you need to down two glasses of champagne, _now_.”

“Fine, fine,” Ander agreed. “But it’s no fun to drink alone...”

Reina sighed. “I suppose I can drink with you...” She leaned in close to Ander, and he caught a whiff of her expensive-smelling perfume. Something floral mixed with musk. “Cheers,” she pronounced as she lifted her glass up to Ander.

Ander knew he was supposed to bring his glass up too, but at that moment he was suddenly distracted by Reina’s face. Specifically her lips. Curved in an inviting smile, red and luscious. Kissable.

Before he knew it, he was locking lips with Reina. Hungrily. He pulled her closer and she placed her hands on his chest. The music, the lights, the crowd... Everything faded. He was only aware of Reina. Her red alcoholic lips, her wavy hair tickling his cheeks, her warm fingers...

“Let’s go to the washroom,” Ander said, his voice thick with desire.

Reina nodded and grabbed her clutch before following Ander. Her hand in his. Soft giggles escaping from her mouth.

Together, they weaved through a maze of bodies. Just as they were about to reach the washrooms, a male voice called out, “Reina?”

Reina twirled around. “Eric!” she replied.

Ander looked and saw a broad-shouldered guy with short dark blond hair. There seemed to be something familiar about this Eric guy...

“Have you met Ander?” Reina gestured at Ander. “Ander, this is –“

“Reina, I know who he is. And I think he knows who I am,” Eric stated in a steely tone.

“Uhh.” Ander frowned. It was hard to think in his drunken state. Where did he know Eric from?

Reina appeared to sober up slightly. “What do you mean, Eric?”

“He’s Ander Muñoz and he’s a loser from Las Encinas,” Eric announced angrily. “I know him from tennis. We’ve competed in tournaments before.”

Oh fuck. Ander knew he was in trouble before Reina even pulled her hand away from his grip.

“Ander Muñoz. How dare you. Get the hell away from me,” Reina practically spat her words. “I never want to see you here or anywhere else again.”

Ander stared at her stormy eyes, knowing there was nothing he could say to diffuse the situation.

Right before he walked away, Reina leaned in and hissed, “And here’s one secret from me. Tonight could’ve been amazing, but you fucking ruined it. Liar.”


	2. The Morning After

The phone buzzed for the twentieth time. It was getting _really_ annoying.

With great reluctance, Reina cracked open one eye and reached out for her phone from the bedside table.

“Hello?” she answered the call, her voice hoarse with sleepiness.

“Reina, are you still in bed?!”

“Yes I am, Emilia.” Reina shut back her eyes as she let out a yawn.

“Get your ass over to The Nook now. We’ve been waiting for you for the past hour.”

Oh, great. Reina had forgotten all about her brunch appointment with Emilia and the rest of the gang.

“I don’t feel like eating,” she told Emilia. Which was the utter truth – between the hangover she was nursing and the whole stupid Ander episode last night, she was not in the mood for food or anything else.

“What?”

“I think I’ll just skip the brunch session and see you all in school tomorrow, okay? Okay.”

“Reina.” Emilia sounded impatient. “You have to come. Matteo is here.”

“What does he want?”

“He heard from Eric about what happened at Maison. He’s really mad and –“

“That’s nothing new. Matteo is always mad about something.”

“Reina, just come, okay?” Emilia pleaded. “We’ll be here.”

“Hmm.”

“I’ll help you order your favorite baked eggs and orange juice. How about that?”

“Fine. I’ll go get ready. But I mean it about not being hungry. So just get the OJ for me.”

* * *

“Okay, I am _starving_ ,” Reina exclaimed as she arrived at The Nook and found her friends. As she took a seat at the table, she removed her Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses that shielded her puffy hangover eyes. She caught sight of Kate’s plate of The Nook’s famous lemon ricotta pancakes, reached over and dug in with a clean fork.

Kate merely smiled wryly at Emilia. “I thought you said Reina didn’t want any food?”

“A lot of things can change in forty-five minutes,” Reina said defensively before taking another bite of the pancakes. God, this was so good.

“Reina.” Matteo sat across from her, his arms folded in front of his chest.

“Matteo,” Reina returned coolly.

Emilia glanced at Kate who was seated next to her. Kate in turn threw an expectant look at Noel who sat on her other side. Noel was Matteo’s best friend and unofficial peacemaker in the group.

“Come on, you two,” Noel dutifully spoke up. “Stop being childish and make up already.”

“What’s there to make up? We’re not together,” Reina declared.

“It was just a dumb fight. You know I don’t want to break up, Reina,” Matteo muttered.

Reina remained silent and took a sip of her glass of orange juice.

Matteo continued, “And anyway, if you wanted to fool around, you didn’t have to choose a joker from Las Encinas.”

_Tell me about it_ , Reina thought, mentally slapping herself for the hundredth time. How could she have been so stupid? Why did she let her guard down around some stranger she’d never met before? Were all the drugs she was doing actually killing her brain cells? Argh.

“We should’ve known better when he didn’t want to say if he was from San Patricio or not,” Emilia noted with an annoyed sigh.

“Emi, you just forgot about everything the moment he offered to treat us to Ice Imperial champagne,” Kate accused laughingly.

Reina wished they would stop talking about Ander. She wanted to banish him from memory as much as possible.

“I should find that guy and teach him a lesson,” Matteo said to Noel, anger splashed all over his handsome face. “I’ll help Las Encinas reduce their trash by one person.”

Noel shrugged. “I’m in, man. You know I’ve been itching to beat up those people. Bastard cheaters.”

Matteo nodded, his nostrils flaring. “First, they stole our victory three years ago like a bunch of dishonest pricks. And now this? Nobody can touch my girlfriend and get away with it.”

“Excuse me? Your girlfriend?” Reina couldn’t stay quiet anymore. She glared at Matteo and tilted her head to one side. “Gianmatteo Herrera, you don’t own me. You don’t get to decide if we’re back together – or not.”

Matteo’s anger dissipated in an instant. He learned forward and spoke softly, “Reina. I was an idiot, okay? Don’t be like this. You know I need you. Tell me how I can make you feel better. Please? Baby?”

Reina rolled her eyes, but the heat had also disappeared from her voice as she replied, “You need me because nobody else wants to deal with your immature antics and ego, dummy.”

Which Reina knew was not entirely true. Matteo was the king of San Patricio – son of Madrid’s most prominent celebrity couple, captain of an incredibly talented football team, and blessed with piercing blue eyes and an irresistible smile... And his body was not too bad either.

So yes. Any girl in school would die at the chance to date Matteo. But he chose Reina. His queen. And she did love being number one in everything. Absolutely everything.

Matteo grinned and reached to hold Reina’s hand across the table.

“Aww, a happy ending,” Emilia remarked with relief.

Matteo’s grin was intact as he looked around the table and announced, “Yes. But I still mean what I said. I will hunt down the Las Encinas punk and remind him never, ever to mess with anyone from San Patricio.”


	3. Game On

Somehow the prospect of going to school on Monday felt even more horrible than the moment Ander got kicked out of Maison last Saturday night.

After snoozing his alarm eight times or so that morning, Ander dragged himself out of bed at last.

Well, at least his eyes were no longer bloodshot and his head didn’t throb anymore. He had spent the entire Sunday lazing on the sofa, too hungover to actually do anything. It was a good thing his parents were out the entire day on a trip to a nearby town to visit some friends.

As he got ready in the bathroom, Ander stared at his reflection in the mirror and wondered at which point he’d started becoming such a lost mess.

Was it when he realized that he didn’t have to – or want to – devote his entire life to tennis?

Or when he had his first taste of cocaine at a party he attended with Guzmán and Polo a few months back, and got hooked?

Or when he decided to step into Maison and get tangled up with people from San Patricio?

The answer: All of the above, probably.

Out of nowhere, an image of Reina appeared in his head. Her expressive yet unreadable dark eyes. The way she pursed her beautiful lips with skepticism at everything he said, but it was almost always followed by a throaty laugh. She was hot, she was icy, she was unstoppable.

And then the look of cold disdain when she found out he went to school at Las Encinas.

That would be his last memory of Reina. A raven-haired mystery that he would never unravel.

But it was all right. Life went on. And sure, his life was a depressing one, but what other choice did he have?

* * *

“Ander, Polo is going to hang out at my house. Coming?” Guzmán asked as he and Ander exited the classroom.

School was over for the day – Ander couldn’t remember half of what the teachers had said, but who cares, right? He would just ask Guzmán for help with his homework later.

“I don’t know. I’m feeling kinda tired,” Ander replied with a shrug.

“Did I hear it right? You’re too tired to hang out with your bros?” Polo had caught up with him and Guzmán, and the three of them strolled out of the school building together.

“What’s wrong with you, Ander?” Guzmán looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “You didn’t answer any of our texts over the weekend, either. Did something happen?”

Ander quickly shook his head. “I guess I’m just not feeling well. Maybe it’s the flu or something.”

“My friend, you know the best cure for that is a couple of beers,” Polo proclaimed with a chuckle.

“Of which my house happens to have plenty of stock,” Guzmán affirmed, a mischievous smile spreading over his freckled face.

It looked like Ander wouldn’t be able to escape. “All right, I’m in.”

Before anyone could say anything else, Ander glimpsed three boys in green school uniforms striding toward him. One of them was Eric, the one who alerted Reina about who Ander was. So that must meant that the other two boys were from San Patricio too. Great.

“Ander Muñoz!” The tallest boy shouted. He had a classically good-looking face, but right now it was twisted with rage.

Guzmán and Polo snapped their heads in the direction of the voice and were met with the three angry boys, all with arms crossed over their chests.

“What the hell?” Guzmán muttered under his breath.

Ander had a good hunch what this was about. “What do you want?” he called back, squinting his eyes slightly under the blazing afternoon sun.

“You made a death wish when you touched my girl on Saturday. And now I’m here to fulfill that death wish for you.”

“Hey, man. Just calm down,” Polo said. “Are you sure you got the right person?”

“Ask him yourself,” Eric spoke, jaw clenched. “I was there when it all happened. And so far he hasn’t denied anything, has he?”

“Ander, is this true?” Guzmán hissed at Ander. “I recognize their uniforms. These guys are from San Patricio. The last people we want to piss off.”

Ander let out a huge sigh before he addressed the tallest boy. “Look, man. What happened on Saturday was a mistake. I didn’t know Reina has a boyfriend. And I don’t intend to talk to her ever again, all right?”

“You’re damn right about it being a mistake. Now you’ll have to pay.”

“Hey, back off,” Guzmán said, stepping forward. “You San Patricio punks are acting tough but don’t forget, you’re in our territory.”

“As if we’re afraid of you Las Encinas losers,” the third boy replied with a smirk.

“Yeah. Call as much backup as you want. We’ll fight each and every one of you,” Tall Boy declared.

“Look, you only have a problem with me,” Ander pointed out. “So let’s just settle it between the both of us. Nobody else needs to get involved.”

Smirky Boy snorted. “You made it a problem for all of us the moment you laid eyes on our Reina.” He began cracking his knuckles.

“Bloody hell,” Polo cursed softly. “Ander, this Reina girl had better be worth it. Looks like we’re all in this whether we like it or not.”

“Bring it on then,” Guzmán said, dropping his backpack to the floor.

Ander wasn’t a big fan of fights. But Polo was right – they were being dragged into this and there was no way of walking away.

Following Guzmán’s cue, Ander proceeded to throw his backpack to the floor as well. He was in the middle of throwing off his school blazer when he heard Christian’s voice.

“Gentlemen, what is going on here?” Christian nonchalantly planted himself right in between the two groups.

“Who the hell are you?” Eric growled at Christian.

Unfazed, Christian extended his hand to Eric. “The name is Christian. Christian Varela Expósito.”

Eric answered with a glare. “You want to be the first to get beaten up, Christian Varela Expósito?”

“Christian, stay out of this,” Guzmán chimed in with a low voice, barely concealing his impatience. “You’re not even part of Las Encinas.”

“What? I go to school here, don’t I?” Christian chuckled. Then he turned to the San Patricio boys. “Look, I prefer a more civilized way to settle whatever dispute that’s happening here.”

Christian grinned as he continued, “Maybe even something fun. What do you say?”

Tall Boy rolled his eyes. “What a fucking joke. Are you suggesting we have a picnic?”

“Well, if that’s what floats your boat...” Christian shrugged good-naturedly. “But you look like a man with more refined taste. Let me guess – your favorite drink at the club is a row of Patrón tequila shots?”

Tall Boy smirked. “Close. I like my tequila mixed with whiskey.”

“Nice.” Christian nodded his approval. “So I have a proposal for you. But first, it’ll be nice to get your name...?”

“Matteo,” Tall Boy grunted, still eyeing Christian suspiciously.

“Matteo! Great. Now, a couple of us were planning to hit Club54 this Saturday. We’d be happy if you and your friends could join us. We can have a drinking competition. Tequila and whiskey shots. What do you say?”

Matteo glanced at the other two boys before he turned back to Christian. “What does the winner get?”

Christian thought for a second. “The winner gets 10 punches onto anyone he likes. How does that sound?”

“Noel? Eric? Are we in?” Matteo asked his friends, who shrugged. “Fine, little man. You have a deal,” he told Christian.

Christian then looked at Ander, Guzmán and Polo. “Are we good with this?”

Ander sighed. “Fine. Whatever.”

“Let’s do this,” Guzmán said.

Polo nodded in agreement. “Game on.”


	4. Fire

“Ander, my man. Are you ready?” Christian asked as he lit up a cigarette.

Ander took a puff from his own cigarette stick. “I don’t know. This whole thing is just stupid.”

It was Saturday night and they were waiting for Guzmán and Polo outside of Club54.

“I saved your ass and I didn’t even get a thank you,” Christian pronounced with a dramatic sigh.

“Thanks, man.”

“No problem. I couldn’t bear to see your pretty face vandalized,” Christian teased.

“It probably will still happen tonight,” Ander pointed out.

“So what happened anyway? How did you get tangled up with San Patricio people?”

“I was at a club that was apparently San Patricio’s home base. And I may have kissed Matteo’s girlfriend...”

Christian laughed. “Good job. Next time try to pick someone with a less influential boyfriend, eh?”

Ander shrugged.

“And there are plenty of beautiful girls at Las Encinas. Take your pick, man. I know I’ve got my sights set on Carla.”

“Follow your own advice and pick someone who isn’t dating Leopoldo Benavent Villada, eh?” Ander grinned.

“Damn, you’re right.” Christian grinned back. “Anyway, about tonight. You know I’m a pro at drinking. You and Polo are not too bad either. I think we will win over those San Patricio jerks.”

Ander chuckled. “I’ll be sure to keep your positivity in mind when Matteo punches me in the gut.”

“Ah, Ander. You’re so negative. You need to lighten up.”

“Do you have something for me, Christian?”

“What do you want? Coke? I can hook you up with my dealer.”

Ander nodded. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. His name is Omar. I’ll send you his contact.”

“What’s up, boys?” A familiar husky voice crooned.

Ander and Christian turned to see Carla walking to them, with Lu behind her.

“Hey hey. You girls are looking smokin’ hot. As always,” Christian said with a wide grin.

Lu rolled her eyes and chose to ignore Christian. Evidently she still saw him as an outsider, even though he, Samuel and Nadia had been at Las Encinas for three weeks.

“Ander, honey, are you okay?” Lu placed an arm on Ander’s arm.

“If you need us to do anything, just say so,” Carla added.

“Everything is fine. Don’t worry,” Ander told the two girls, though he appreciated their concern. “Just steer clear from us when the San Patricio people arrive later, okay?”

The five of them – Ander, Guzmán, Polo, Carla and Lu – had known one another since they were kids and had a special bond. Ander knew that they were all feeling protective over him. That was the problem. _He_ was protective over them too, and he didn’t want any harm to come to his friends.

“Do you think this Reina girl will show up tonight?” Lu asked. “I checked her Instagram. She’s gorgeous, but please, why does she sound like she hates the world?”

Ander scrunched up his face. He didn’t expect his friends to start looking into Reina. She wasn’t even a significant presence in his life. She was... just a mistake.

“It doesn’t matter,” Ander said dismissively. “Let’s just get this over with.”

As if on cue, Guzmán and Polo appeared.

“Let’s do this, boys,” Guzmán said with a mischievous glint in his blue eyes.

* * *

It was almost 11pm when the three San Patricio boys turned up at Club54: Matteo, Noel and Eric.

“So it’s three against three. Christian, you can be the referee tonight,” Guzmán instructed Christian as the Las Encinas and San Patricio boys faced each other in the middle of the club.

“What? No way,” Matteo growled. “He’s one of you guys.”

“We should’ve known that you Las Encinas losers would play dirty again – even before the competition began,” Eric added angrily.

“Pipe down, boys.”

Ander recognized that voice. Reina.

She walked right up and stopped beside Christian. With all eyes on her, she lifted her chin up and announced, “I’ll be co-referee with him.”

She nodded carelessly at Christian.

“Christian,” he supplied his name with a flourish.

“Whatever.” Reina rolled her eyes. “So anyway, this will make things fair for everyone. Cool?”

Each head nodded.

Ander noticed that Reina had not even glanced his way once. Which was fine. He had bigger problems to worry about now, as it was.

The first tray of shots had just been placed on a tall table – whisky and tequila. Not Ander’s favorite combination of spirits, but he didn’t intend to taste much of it anyway. He would just gulp it down as quickly as possible.

All six boys stepped forward, grabbed a shot glass each, and waited for the cue to start.

“Ready?” Reina called out. “And... Go!”

The first shot was easy to swallow. And the second. And third.

Ander’s throat started burning at the fourth shot, but everyone else seemed fine.

By then, a crowd had formed around them, curious. Lu and Carla were right in front of the crowd, holding each other’s hand as they watched anxiously.

At the sixth shot, Guzmán started grimacing. He let out a cough and shook his head, but soldiered on.

When shot number eight came, Eric slammed a hand on the table. Then he started swaying slightly.

“Uh oh, looks like we have our first casualty,” Christian observed.

“Eric? You okay?” Noel asked.

Eric didn’t answer. Instead, he made a dash in the direction of the washrooms.

The crowd saw and went, “Oooooooh.”

Reina frowned, obviously not pleased. “Let’s carry on,” she said sternly.

After ten minutes, there were only three contestants left: Ander, Polo and Matteo. Guzmán was the next to throw in the towel followed by Noel.

Ander was ready to puke at this point. He didn’t want another freaking whisky and tequila shot.

Glancing at Polo, he was sure his friend felt the same. But Polo flashed him a thumbs up sign, and Ander smiled. They were going to push through even if it meant both of them passing out on the floor eventually. Las Encinas never gave up.

“GO ANDER! GO POLO!” Lu and Carla shouted.

“MATTEO, KNOCK THEM DEAD!” Kate and Emilia, who had shown up just a short while ago, yelled in return.

“All right, all right.” Christian signaled for the crowd to quiet down. He turned to Reina and whispered something to her. She nodded.

“So we are down to our last three drinkers,” Christian said. “And for this final round, we have prepared something more special.”

What now?! Ander sighed to himself, ready for the worst.

“Yes. As you can see, the waiter has just brought out nine shots of flaming B-52s,” Reina announced. “Each shot contains Irish cream, orange liqueur and coffee liqueur – topped by a blazing flame on top. Delicious.”

Matteo didn’t seem to agree with his girlfriend as he eyed the shot glasses in front of him, visibly swallowing his saliva.

“On the count of three, each of you will need to drink up the three shots continuously,” Christian said, “The first person to finish his three shots will win.”

“Ready?” Reina flashed Matteo a worried glance for a second, then retained her composure. “One, two... Three! Go!”

Ander tipped his head back and took the first flaming B-52 shot.

Done.

Second shot – shit, it really burned as it slid down his throat.

His surroundings started to spin. And judging by how his stomach felt, it definitely didn’t like housing so many different types of alcohol at the moment.

“Oh, Polo is out!” Christian shouted over the excited noise from the crowd.

Ander couldn’t even muster the strength to turn around to check on Polo.

He gripped the very last shot glass in his hand, but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to drink it. It was at this very moment that he swore never to take another alcoholic shot in his life, ever again. It tasted shitty and it made him feel shitty.

 _Come on, Ander._ He squeezed his eyes shut and brought the glass to his lips. The dizziness in his head intensified, but he tried to ignore it. Just. One. More. Shot.

The second the hot liquid touched his lips, Ander spat it out on reflex. He couldn’t help it. His body was rejecting any further alcohol intake.

“And Ander is out!” Reina exclaimed.

“Hang on, Matteo isn’t drinking his final shot yet...” Christian pronounced. “Oh look! Matteo has dropped his glass. And is he falling down..?! Someone catch him!”

The next thing Ander saw was Matteo sitting slumped on the floor, almost passed out.

“Did.. I.. win?” Ander muttered, before his knees buckled and he too ended up on the floor.


	5. Ice

“Ander!”

He heard Lu calling out to him. Then he felt strong arms pulling him back up to a standing position.

“My friend, let’s get you to a more comfortable place to collapse,” Christian said close to his ear.

“You’re okay, yeah, Ander?” Guzmán said from Ander’s other side.

“Mm,” Ander grunted, incapable of speaking actual words just then.

He was soon led to a soft, velvety sofa. Someone tried to offer him a glass of water but he waved it away. He just needed some time to relax and ride out the worst of the alcohol effect. He sat back and let his eyelids flutter shut.

He heard Lu talking furiously to Christian. Guzmán and Carla were trying to calm her down. He couldn’t concentrate on what they were saying. The whole world was slipping away...

“Ander, drink some water. Please.”

He opened his eyes reluctantly to see Carla staring down at him with deep concern.

“Okay.” Ander took the glass from her and sipped.

“You were out cold on this sofa for half an hour,” Carla informed him.

“Really?”

Carla nodded. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel...” Ander exhaled. “I feel like I need to pee, really badly.”

Carla let out a laugh. “I think you should be able to manage that on your own? Or do you need help?”

“I’m fine.” Ander slowly got up. “I’ll be right back.”

After relieving himself at the washroom and giving himself a good splash of cold water to the face, Ander felt better. What a night. Second crappy Saturday outing in a row. He just couldn’t catch a break.

As Ander exited the men’s bathroom and made his way back to his friends, someone emerged on his path.

His eyes locked with Reina’s eyes. If she was startled, she didn’t show it.

“Hey,” Reina said briskly. She had a glass of cocktail in one hand – it looked like gin and tonic – and her voice was as frosty as the icy drink she held.

“Hey,” Ander echoed. He stepped aside to let Reina walk by him.

As she passed him, Reina mentioned, “You didn’t win, by the way. In case you passed out and missed the memo.”

Ander furrowed his brows. “But Matteo didn’t take his last shot, did he?”

Reina rolled her eyes. “Well, no. But neither did you. So the final judgment was – nobody won. It was a tie between you two losers.”

Ander groaned. “So all of that torture with whisky and tequila and B-52s... They were for nothing?”

“Matteo should’ve won. If we’d given him a new shot glass, he wouldn’t have any trouble downing it,” Reina declared confidently.

“I recall seeing him collapse on the floor though,” Ander pointed out wryly.

“And you collapsed right after he did,” Reina shot back, more than a little defensively.

Ander noticed that Reina hadn’t moved past him yet. She was, in fact, standing dangerously close to him.

“So you’re not leaving yet?” he prompted, looking at the full glass in her hand.

“Soon. We’re waiting for some friends to arrive, then we’ll cart the Matteo and the other two out of here.”

Ander nodded. “I’ll see you around then.”

“Wait.”

 _Hmm. What did Reina want?_ Ander looked at her inquisitively.

Reina bit on her lower lip before she continued, “Is it true... that there’s a secret VIP room here at Studio54?”

A curious cat. Ander found it cute. “Who wants to know?” he teased.

Reina rolled her eyes at him. “Show me,” she demanded.

“And what do I get in return?” Ander went on teasing.

Impatient, Reina punched his arm. “Lead the way please. Now.”

This girl was determined. Okay.

Ander signaled for Reina to follow him. He walked extra slowly because he was still woozy from the alcohol. The two of them passed the edge of the dancefloor and soon reached the other end of the club, where there was a corridor with a nondescript door that said ‘STAFF ONLY’. On the door was also a metallic keypad that glinted in the semi-darkness.

“Hang on.” Ander took out his phone and opened up an app. After a few taps, four digits appeared on his screen. He pressed accordingly on the keypad and the door clicked open.

“Ladies first,” Ander indicated, stepping back to allow Reina to go in.

Reina gave him a half-smile. “This is it?” she said as she got to the center of the room and did a slow twirl to take in everything.

The VIP room could hold approximately ten people at a time. Black walls, illuminated by the glow of red LEDs. Silver metallic sofas and one massive mirror wall. Soft house music floated from speakers on each corner of the room.

“I guess San Patricio people are not easily impressed,” Ander quipped.

“Of course,” Reina replied haughtily.

Ander paused, wondering if he should say what was on his mind. But what the hell... It wasn’t like he had anything to lose.

“You should’ve told me you had a boyfriend,” he spoke.

Reina glanced at him, her expression blank. “Not that it’s any of your business – but Matteo and I were on a break the night you and I... met.”

Ander shrugged.

“And you should’ve told me you were from Las Encinas,” she remarked.

“School rivalry is stupid to me. I didn’t care.”

“Can you afford not to care? Especially now that there’s an official clash between our schools, and you’re at the very center of it?”

_Great. Nice going, Ander. That’ll teach you to think twice about kissing girls you don’t know._

Ander shrugged again. “It’s over, isn’t it? It was a tie. Nobody gets punched.”

A loud laugh from Reina. “You can’t possibly be that naïve. Matteo will not settle for a draw.” From the sound of it, Reina would not either.

“Whatever. Count me out. I’m done with this,” Ander told her. His life sucked enough without all of this additional shit to make it worse.

Reina smirked. “Ander – either you hunt, or be hunted.”

“I definitely feel like some wounded animal right now.” Ander pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt the beginnings of a massive headache. And a wave of nausea washed over him.

She held up her glass of cocktail. “Drink?” she offered with a wicked grin.

“Don’t even joke about it,” Ander groaned, staring at the drink in disgust. “I can still taste the burn of the flaming B-52s.”

“Then this ice-cold gin and tonic should be the perfect antidote...” Reina took a step forward.

“Get away from me,” Ander warned her. “I’m _this_ close to puking.”

Reina chuckled. Before she could say anything else, her phone beeped. After checking the message that came in, she muttered, “That’s my cue to go.”

She finished up her drink in two gulps. She then used the straw to fish an ice cube from her glass, which she popped into her mouth.

Ander stared as Reina chewed on her ice. “Hey, can I have one? Ice cube, I mean.”

Reina obliged and passed her glass to him. For a few seconds, they stood there without saying anything, eating ice cubes together.

“I want the last ice cube,” Reina broke the silence, verbally staking her claim.

“Nope, it’s mine.”

“Don’t be childish,” Reina scolded with a roll of her eyes. “You can just go out to the bar and ask for more ice. I need to go already.”

Ander smiled, knowing that he had the height advantage over Reina’s petite self. He held the glass high and said, “Come and get it.”

“Seriously?” Reina threw him a nasty glare, her hands on her hips. “Fine. Go ahead and take that goddamn ice.”

Well, at least he won at something tonight. Ander continued smiling at Reina as he retrieved the last ice cube and ate it slowly, savoring this mini victory.

But what happened next nearly made him choke – Reina came close, yanked hard at the front collar of his shirt, and brought her lips to his.

Ander felt her tongue flicking around, and soon they were French kissing, their tongues locked in a playful duel. Which was nice, until he felt the ice cube sliding away...

“YES!” Reina exclaimed triumphantly, pulling away from Ander and showing off the ice cube that was now in her mouth.

Ander furrowed his brows at her. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

“All part of my charm,” Reina responded with a wink. “Goodbye, Ander.”


	6. Collide

It was shaping up to be a boring Sunday for Reina.

She lazed on a deck chair and stared out moodily into the blue depths of her home swimming pool, the water glinting in the afternoon sun.

The entire house was deathly silent. The maids had gone out for grocery shopping and other errands. Her father was away on another one of his business trips, while her mother had locked herself in the master bedroom for several hours now.

Reina knew better than to check in on her mother. After all these years, she knew what she would find if she were to knock on the door and peek into the master bedroom. She knew what her mother would say, and she knew what she would be expected to reply. But no, Reina refused to lie, even if it was in the name of comforting her mother.

Family affairs were tricky. Too much of a hassle. Reina preferred to keep her distance, as cruel as it sounded.

Reina was jolted from her thoughts by the ringing of her phone.

She saw that the call was from Matteo and picked up. “Hey, babe. How are you feeling?”

“Bad,” Matteo said with a groan. “I don’t even remember how I got home.”

“Javier and Cruz came over to Club54 and drove us all back. We made sure you, Noel and Eric were safely in your rooms before we left. Let me tell you, it was _not_ easy getting you into bed, babe.”

“You usually don’t have trouble getting me into bed,” Matteo told her huskily. She could hear the smile in his voice.

“Well, you usually aren’t throwing up and thrashing your arms around,” Reina teased, rolling her eyes.

“Sorry.”

“Tell that to Cruz. I think you smacked his head a couple of times while he was carrying you into your house,” Reina chuckled.

“Ughhh. I’ll have to thank him when I see him in school,” Matteo said. “And you too, Reina. Thanks for taking care of us.”

“Of course. It’s just too bad the drinking competition ended up in a draw.”

“Yeah. I hate myself for it. I was this close to winning.”

“So what’s going to happen now?”

“I don’t know. All I know is we’re not letting those Las Encinas fools off that easily.”

“Give them a new challenge then?”

“What should the challenge be though? Any ideas?”

“Hmm. Definitely something that plays to your strengths...”

Matteo laughed. “I have too many strengths, it’s hard to choose.”

“Modesty is not one of them, for sure,” Reina observed dryly.

Another laugh. “Well, we can discuss in school tomorrow with the rest of the gang. Right now my body feels like it was run over by a truck.”

“Poor baby,” Reina cooed. “Go and get more rest then.”

“What are you up to today?”

Reina sighed. “Nothing much, I guess. Kate and Emilia are both busy with God knows what. Homework? Family events? Nothing exciting, that’s all I know. And I _could_ call the girls from the cheerleading squad, but they can get so annoying sometimes. Especially when they keep asking me about you like silly starstruck fans.”

“I can’t help it if your boyfriend is an amazing guy and well-loved by everyone.”

“There’s that modesty again.”

“You know you love me, baby Rei Rei,” Matteo said in an exaggerated affectionate tone.

“Eww, stop. Or I’ll start hurling badly like how you were last night.” Reina knew Matteo was just riling her up, but honest to God, she really hated nicknames of all kinds.

Matteo laughed, then sighed. “All right, I’m going to take a nap now. Catch you tomorrow?”

“Okay. Feel better soon, babe.”

“Okay. Bye, Reina.”

“Bye.”

Reina stretched her arm to reach for her glass of mimosa on the poolside table – only to find it empty. Now her mood was ten times worse.

Why was the glass always empty? Not even half, but fully empty!

She decided to forget about drinking and started browsing Instagram on her phone. The feed was, unfortunately, severely predictable – the girls all posted selfies in their skimpiest outfits and overly made-up faces, while the guys showed off their gym bodies and latest pairs of designer sneakers.

Yawn.

Reina tapped her phone screen and activated the camera. She shall contribute an Instagram photo of her own. But not a selfie, no.

She aimed the phone lens at her toes. Black nails, tiny against the backdrop of the blue waters of the pool.

Snap.

Biting her lower lip in thought, Reina took a few seconds to type the caption: _Even in the brightest day, something dark can bloom._

Publish.

Some people have told Reina that her Instagram account was filled with too many depressing captions. Not that she cared. As far as she was concerned, she wasn’t being negative, just realistic.

Still staring at her phone, Reina thought of something. She tapped on the search function in Instagram, and looked for Ander’s account. She wondered if he even had Instagram. Maybe Las Encinas students were major weirdos who disliked social media?

And... gotcha. Ander Muñoz.

His Instagram account housed only several photos, less than fifteen. Most of the photos didn’t even show his face. No shirtless pictures with flexed muscles. No Gucci shoes. Odd.

Okay, Reina was done with stalking. Nothing juicy. Oh well. Moving along now...

She twirled her hair absent-mindedly, trying to figure out what else she could do right now. As long as she was able to get out of this mental prison called "home", all was good.

Maybe she could go shopping and check out the new collection of bags at Prada. Never mind that she had just bought a new tote from Celine last week.

Or she could call up her favorite salon and get a new cut and color.

Or...

Yes, that was it. Reina knew what she wanted.

She opened up her phone again, found the name she was looking for, and began typing: _Hey. I need fresh supply. Meet at the usual spot in an hour?_

The reply came swiftly: _Ok c u_

A smile curved on Reina’s face. Finally, her Sunday was looking up.

She went back into the house and got dressed quickly. Next, makeup – eyebrow gel, some mascara, and her trusty Charlotte Tilbury dusty rose lipstick. Done.

Reina got her driver to drop her a short distance away from the meeting point, then started walking.

It was a quiet, run-down part of the town that she normally wouldn’t be caught dead in, but that was also the beauty of it – she would unlikely bump into anyone she knew here.

Soon the meeting point was in sight. It was an abandoned concrete pedestrian bridge, covered in sprays of graffiti.

Reina took the steps up, keeping an eye out for the person she was meeting.

When she got to the top of the steps, she stopped. Her gaze fell on the curly-haired figure standing not too far away from her – he was looking down at the phone in his hand, so he hadn’t noticed her. But he clearly was waiting for someone as well.

What. The. Fuck.

This was absolutely the last person she was expecting to see. Maybe it was the universe’s idea of a twisted joke: _Checking someone out on Instagram? Here, we will just make him appear right before you then._

Well, Reina wasn’t amused.

“Ander,” she called out angrily.

Ander nearly dropped his phone at the sound of her voice. “Reina?” he replied, confusion written on his face.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked. She didn’t want Ander to be around when she was about to meet up with –

“Reina? Ander?”

Omar emerged from the steps. His dark eyes wide with surprise, he said, “So... You two know each other?”


	7. Conceal

Ander observed the scene before him.

Reina stood a few feet away. She had the stormiest look on her face, her lips set in a tight line. Yet there was something else – what was it? She looked like a kid who had just gotten caught wearing her mother’s expensive makeup.

And then Omar. That was the name that Christian gave him anyway. “Look for the dude with thick eyebrows and an earnest face,” Christian had said to him over the phone.

Omar did not look earnest at all at this moment. His eyes darted from Ander to Reina, his expression a mixture of curiosity and awkwardness.

Ander coughed once. “Reina and I don’t really know each other. We just happen to bump into each other at the clubs from time to time,” he told Omar vaguely.

“Right.” Omar didn’t look entirely convinced, but he didn’t push the subject. “Listen, I sorta messed up with the timings. I was supposed to meet Reina first at this same spot, but I didn’t count on you showing up early...”

Ander nodded. Omar did say 5.30pm, but he had gotten restless and decided to leave the house way before it was time.

“Yeah, it was my bad,” Ander said. “Anyway.. You’re Omar, right? Nice to meet you. I’ll let you, uhh, tend to Reina first. I can always take a walk and come back later.”

As soon as Ander spoke those words, he could see Reina visibly relax slightly.

“Well...” Omar glanced at Reina. “If both of you don’t mind, we can just get this done at the same time. Together.”

Reina raised an eyebrow and looked like she was going to protest. But she paused to reconsider then said, “Fine. Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”

Ander nodded in agreement.

“All right.” Omar reached for his backpack and produced two small packs. He handed one to Reina and the other to Ander.

Reina took a quick look around to make sure nobody was around before she brought her pack close to her nose and breathed in. “Fresh,” she approved.

Ander was no expert on marijuana freshness, so he would just take Reina’s word for it.

He took out the money from his pocket and passed it to Omar. Reina unzipped her dainty beige Saint Laurent crossbody bag and paid Omar too.

“Thanks. Enjoy your goods,” Omar said with a wry smile.

“It’s so weird how you’re a drug dealer but you don’t actually use any drugs yourself, Omar,” Reina commented, smirking.

“Really?” Ander was amazed.

Omar shrugged. “Yeah, I’m only doing it for the money.” His eyes fixed onto Ander’s face for a moment. “You look exactly like how Christian described.”

“Yeah?”

“Curls. And a perpetual expression like you’d just inhaled something really bad.”

Reina let out an amused laugh.

“Nice.” Ander scrunched up his nose.

“Exactly like that!” Reina exclaimed, laughing again.

Omar chuckled along. Then he became thoughtful. “So correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t Las Encinas and San Patricio like sworn rivals of each other?”

Reina frowned, no longer laughing. “Yes,” she replied tersely. “And I’d really appreciate it if you could make sure that I don’t have an overlapping slot with Ander in the future.”

“Uhh sure, of course,” Omar said, nodding.

The ice queen was back. Ander knew this was his cue to leave. “Thanks again,” he told Omar, pocketing his pack. “Bye, Omar. Bye, Reina.”

Omar waved goodbye, while Reina threw Ander a casual nod before she turned away with her phone glued to the ear.

Was this the same girl who had pulled him in for a tongue-mashing lip-lock just the night before? She kept blowing hot and cold; Ander couldn’t keep up with her twenty different moods.

But it was fine. Ander didn’t need to care about her. He had other things to occupy his time this evening, and he couldn’t wait to get started.

As he left, he took out his earphones, hooked them to his phone and pulled up a playlist of Drake’s songs. He was in the mood for some laidback music with self-indulgent lyrics, and Drake never failed to deliver.

Right when Ander had gotten to the bottom of the pedestrian bridge stairs and Drake had started rapping about God’s plan and bad things, he felt a tug on his shirt sleeve.

He stopped and turned to see Reina beside him, sulkily chewing on her lower lip.

Pulling one earphone out, he muttered, “Reina. What’s up?”

“Umm.” Reina exhaled, as if dreading her next words. “What are your plans for the next.. one hour or so?”

“I’m gonna grab a pizza before heading home. Then I’ll start on my goods from Omar. Why?”

“My driver. He’s all the way on the other side of town, running some errands for my mom,” Reina explained with obvious annoyance. “So I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out. Or something.”

“What about Matteo?”

“He’s still too hungover to leave the house and give me a ride.” Reina gazed at Ander. “I’m surprised you’ve recovered from last night.”

“Well, us Lan Encinas losers aren’t such terrible drinkers after all, I suppose.”

Reina made a face. “So?”

“So...?”

“Are we hanging out or what?”

“I thought you didn’t want to be associated with anyone from Las Encinas,” Ander reminded her.

Reina rolled her eyes, impatient. “Okay, forget it. I’m just going to call an Uber.”

“No, we can hang out.” Ander smirked. “But first, you have to admit that the whole school rivalry thing is stupid.”

“What? No way.”

“Suit yourself. Bye, Reina.” Ander started walking again, plugging his earphone back in.

He sensed Reina falling into stride next to him, letting him lead the way without a word.

Okay. So it looked like she was coming along with him.

The heat of the day had melted away and it was now perfect weather for walking.

Ander noticed Reina putting on a pair of sunglasses – presumably to shield her face from anyone who might recognize her rather than from the setting sun. He quietly wondered if she ever felt exhausted, concealing so many parts of herself from the world. First the drugs, which was understandable. But being afraid to be seen with someone from Las Encinas? Was it necessary?

He chose not to say anything. It was her life, after all. Who was he to question it? He knew that he had his own things that he withheld from others. Things that he was sure nobody else would comprehend anyway.

Ander caught sight of the pizza place up ahead. He could already smell the piquant tomato sauce the shop was famous for.

“Hi,” he said as he strolled up to the teenage girl at the counter. “I’ll have a large pepperoni pizza.” He glanced at Reina. “Would you like some pizza too?”

Reina’s eyes swept the menu swiftly. “Yeah, I’ll have a small BBQ chicken pizza.”

“Sure,” the counter girl replied, keying in the two pizzas before she went to the back to relay their orders to the kitchen.

Ander and Reina took seats at some of the stools near the counter and waited.

Reina pointed at Ander’s earphones. “What are you listening to?” she asked.

Ander responded by taking one earphone out and offering it to her.

Reina accepted, her face an exquisite picture of curiosity. _Drake?_ she mouthed at him, to which Ander nodded.

‘In My Feelings’ started playing and Reina immediately got immersed in the song, bopping her head to the beat.

Ander merely watched her from the corner of his eye in quiet amusement.


	8. Tangled

“So, uhh, sit wherever you want. Make yourself at home,” Ander said, gesturing around his room that sat on the second floor of the house.

Reina gingerly perched herself on the chair next to his study table, while Ander decided to plop onto his bed.

On hindsight, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to invite a girl back to the house – especially when she had a boyfriend who already disliked him for various reasons. And Ander was pretty sure that this would give Matteo the biggest reason ever to hate him.

Because of the goods that were about to be consumed, Ander and Reina couldn’t exactly hang out in the living room. Though Ander’s parents were out at a dinner party, they could come back anytime.

“Here’s your pizza.” Ander awkwardly passed to Reina her box.

“Thanks,” Reina answered with equal amount of awkwardness. “Umm, I think I should make it clear, that we’re purely here to eat pizza and smoke weed.”

Ander nodded. “No problem. We’re on the same page.”

“Nothing else can happen. I mean, nothing else will.”

Again, Ander nodded his head. Never mind that the two previous times they’d met, they had ended up kissing. And there were drugs involved tonight...

“Right.” Reina looked around the room. “So do you have the stuff we need to roll our joints?”

“Yeah.”

Ander retrieved what they needed from his desk drawers and they got started at constructing the weed joints.

“So... This is your family house?” Reina inquired.

“Yeah, it is. Why?”

“It’s just – not quite the kind of house I imagined a Las Encinas student would live in...”

Ander smirked. “You mean, it’s not a grand mansion with ten rooms, seven bathrooms and five maids?”

Reina’s eyebrows shot up guiltily. “Well...”

“I’m not rich at all, if that’s what you’re asking. I only got into Las Encinas because my mom’s the headmistress.”

“Oh. What’s that like, being the headmistress’s son in school?”

“It’s not a big deal. Nobody treats me any differently because of it.”

Soon, the joints were ready. Ander opened the door that led to his room balcony and lit up. He leaned against one side of the doorway, while Reina took the other side.

Ander’s first intake of the joint got him coughing badly and Reina laughing hard.

“You okay there?” she asked.

“Never better,” he wheezed. “It’s my first time smoking weed,” he admitted.

“Aww, I’m honored that you’re sharing your first time with me,” Reina teased.

“So. How many rooms, bathrooms and maids does _your_ house have?” Ander queried, his second puff going down a lot more smoothly.

“Too many,” Reina remarked dismissively.

“You don’t like your house?”

“Why do you ask that?”

“Just a feeling I had.”

“Ander Muñoz, you’re quite the observant one.”

“So why don’t you like being at home?”

“It’s just a house to me, not a home.”

“You’re not answering much.”

“Some things are better left unsaid.”

“Well, since you know my last name, you should tell me yours. At the very least.”

Reina rolled her eyes. “It’s Velásquez. Now, no more questions.”

“Fine.”

By the time they moved on to their second joints and had wolfed down a couple of pizza slices each, Reina appeared to have loosened up. She requested for more Drake music, which Ander obligingly blasted from his set of Bluetooth speakers.

“This is a great song to dance to,” Reina announced as ‘Toosie Slide’ came on. She threw her arms up and began to shake her hips, right there in the middle of the room. “Come on, Ander. Dance with me.”

Ander looked at Reina warily. “Didn’t you say that – “

“Say what?” She inched ever closer to Ander, giggling softly – no doubt from the effect of the weed. He could smell her delicate mango-scented hair.

“You said that nothing can happen,” Ander reminded her, trying to maintain a sense of realism amidst the bubbling, chemically-induced euphoria he was feeling.

“Are you going to agree with anything and everything I say?”

“If it makes sense, I guess.”

Reina tilted her head. “So if I say that Las Encinas sucks, you would agree?”

“Hmm... I don’t know.”

Reina sighed. “What kind of lame ass answer is that?”

“School pride isn’t my thing. It’s not a crime.”

“Oh, that’s right. The whole school rivalry thing is stupid to you.”

“Isn’t it?”

“It’s _not_ stupid,” Reina insisted. “Two years ago, your football team cheated and robbed us of a hard-earned victory. Nothing can change that.”

“It was just a football match. And neither one of us were involved in it at all,” Ander pointed out.

Reina huffed, “You wouldn’t say that if your team had lost that day.”

Ander shrugged. “I don’t know what to say, Reina. It really doesn’t matter either way to me.”

“You’re impossible,” Reina declared in frustration, running her hand through her dark wavy hair furiously.

Ander knew he should’ve been annoyed or something. But for some reason, the more riled up Reina got, the more amused he felt. Was this all because of the weed? If so, he should be smoking it all the time so that he could breeze through his entire life without giving too much of a fuck about anything.

He stood there, arms crossed, looking at Reina with a slight smile. She was still standing dangerously close to him.

Seeing how Ander didn’t respond, Reina scowled and said, “Honestly, Ander! You must be cold-blooded. Don’t you have a single ounce of loyalty to your school? How could you just stand here and not even say –“

Ander didn’t let her finish the sentence. In one quick move, he leaned down and pressed his lips against Reina’s lips.

It worked – Ander got Reina to stop talking.

She blinked once. Twice. Then she started kissing him back, slowly at first, but the intensity quickly built up. Ander’s arms found their way around her waist, pulling her in until their bodies were pressed against each other, warm and pulsing with desire.

Ander could feel Reina’s lips curving into a smile as their kiss deepened. Then he realized he was smiling too.

His right hand caressed the small of her back and he heard her utter a soft moan. His hands wanted to keep going, wanted to explore every part of her. And judging by Reina’s fingers that were traveling to where the zip of his jeans were, the feeling was mutual.

Drenched in unmistakable passion, they stumbled and fell into Ander’s bed. Sinking into the covers, Ander reached for Reina’s white silk top and slid it off, revealing her white bra and smooth, kissable skin. He moved in, his hot breath tickling her neck, and she giggled incessantly. He left a trail of tiny kisses on her collarbone, feeling the rise and fall of her rapid breathing.

Reina reached for the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head. Next, she went for his jeans and underwear. Unzipping, tugging. Suddenly everything felt urgent. Ander did his part too, swiftly removing Reina’s mini plaid skirt and undergarments.

Bare-skinned and limbs tangled in the bedsheets, Ander and Reina exchanged lusty gazes. Ander gave her one last lingering kiss before he pushed in.


	9. Under The Skin

The moment Reina’s eyelids fluttered open, her chest was seized by a very bad feeling. It took her several seconds to register where she was – in Ander’s room. More specifically, in his bed.

She turned and saw Ander sleeping soundly next to her. Naked.

She looked down and noted that she was missing her own clothes as well.

Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck.

What time was it? How long had she fallen asleep?

Reina scrambled to get herself out of the bed and retrieve her phone from her bag.

The phone screen said 10:49pm. Which meant that she and Ander had dozed off for more than two hours!

She quickly unlocked the phone and called her driver.

Luckily, he picked up almost right away.

“Luis,” she said, trying to sound calm. “Can you pick me up now? I’m at -“

Shit. She didn’t know what address to give Luis.

She padded over to where Ander was, shaking his shoulder urgently. “Ander! Wake up.”

“Hmm?” Ander cracked one sleepy eye open, confused.

“I need your house address,” Reina hissed. “What is it?”

“Huh?”

“Your address. House number and street name. Tell me.”

Comprehending her request this time, Ander gave Reina the information she needed, which she relayed to Luis.

“Okay. See you, Luis,” Reina said before hanging up. She sat back down on the edge of the bed, exhaling a huge breath loudly.

She felt Ander’s fingertips on her wrist. “Ander,” she spoke in a detached tone without looking at him in the eye. “What we did – it was a mistake. It shouldn’t have happened. It was my fault for even suggesting to hang out at your place here.”

“Reina...”

“We were both under the influence of drugs and shit happened. Okay?”

Reina didn’t bother waiting for his response. She freed her wrist from Ander’s hold and picked up her clothes that had been flung with abandon two hours ago.

Once she was fully dressed again, she cleared her throat. “Umm, Luis will be here in ten minutes and I need you to let me out. I think I hear your parents downstairs.”

Ander nodded and started putting on his clothes. As he did so, she could feel his unwavering gaze on her, but it wasn’t her problem. She didn’t owe him a proper sit-down conversation about any of this.

As a final step before exiting Ander’s room, Reina reached for a travel-size spray bottle of Gucci Bloom perfume from her bag and spritzed all over to make sure she didn’t reek of that distinct weed smell.

Ander went through the door after her and Reina decided to spritz him too.

Reina snuck a peek as she descended the staircase and spied a short-haired middle-aged woman – presumably Ander’s mother – sitting on the sofa in the living room, flipping through the TV channels with a remote control in her hand.

_Oh God, this is going to be beyond awkward._

Ander was right behind her, so she signaled with her hands to ask him to go ahead down first.

“Hey, mom,” Ander called out when he reached the landing, his hand hovering on the banister.

Mrs Muñoz glanced up. “Hello, Ander. Have you had dinner? We brought home some leftovers from the party.”

“I’ve already had pizza,” Ander replied before making a move towards the front door with Reina discreetly tailing him.

“Oh, hello there,” Mrs Muñoz said, catching sight of Reina.

Damnit.

Reina paused in her steps. “Hello,” she returned softly, forcing a grin on her face.

“Mom, this is Reina,” Ander introduced quickly. “We were, uhh, playing video games.”

Reina hastily nodded her head. _Video games? We were definitely playing something, all right._

“That’s nice,” Mrs Muñoz replied, but a knowing smile crept at the corners of her mouth.

“I’ll have to leave now. It was nice to meet you, Mrs Muñoz,” Reina said before she scurried off.

“Okay. Goodbye, Reina.”

Ander opened the door for her. Together, they stood outside at the porch in the quiet night, waiting for Luis.

“Hey, listen...” Ander intoned.

Reina’s eyes flicked over to his face for a brief moment. He didn’t have sharp, chiseled features like Matteo, but still, there was something irresistible about Ander. Those hazel eyes that she wanted to dive into and never come up for air. Tousled curls brushing his forehead. His soft, delicious lips. His strong arms that had encircled her and given her a strange, safe feeling.

Would Reina ever deny that she was physically attracted to Ander? No. But that was all there was to this. A physical attraction. It would surely subside and disappear in time.

“Text me when you get home?” Ander requested.

Reina shrugged her shoulders. “I’ll be fine.”

“Just to be safe.”

He was sweet. He would make a great boyfriend for someone – someone who didn’t already have a long-term boyfriend and go to a rival school.

“If you insist,” Reina relented. “What’s your number?”

Ander gave it to her.

A minute passed before a bright pair of headlights illuminated the road in front of Ander’s house.

Recognizing the silver Mercedes Benz S-class that Luis drove, Reina said, “That’s my ride.”

She turned to Ander, facing him fully for the first time since they’d woken up from their.. bedroom entanglement. She couldn’t bear his solemn expression, and despite her resolution to be emotionless with him, she took a step closer to him and placed her hand gently on his cheek.

“See you around, Ander.”

* * *

“There you are. Finally,” Kate said to Noel as he showed up at the gang’s usual lunch table in school on Monday, ten minutes later than the rest. The table was set outside, under the shade of a giant oak tree.

“I had to go to two vending machines before finding this,” Noel explained, triumphantly showing his can of Aquarius Naranja.

“You know it’s just orange-flavored chemicals, right?” Emilia said with a wrinkle of her nose.

“Damn delicious orange-flavored chemicals,” Noel corrected her as he opened the can and took a big, satisfied swig.

“All right, Noel. Just take a seat so that we can get started,” Matteo told him, bringing his palms together in excitement as he looked from one person to another – Noel, Reina, Kate and Emilia.

Noel dutifully placed his lunch tray on the table and dropped into an available chair next to Reina. He nudged her and asked, “Get started on what?”

Reina shrugged her shoulders. “On plotting a plan to destroy our dear friends at Las Encinas.”

It was weird how Reina wasn’t more enthusiastic about this. Normally her competitive spirit would be on a perpetual, scary sky-high level.

And devising games that would ensure her side wins by a landslide? Just the thought of it would usually get her grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Usually, yes.

But today Reina just felt.. _off_. Like she’d gotten up on the wrong side of the bed.

Her mind flashed back to the short text conversation she had with Ander when she got home last night.

**Reina: I’m home**

**Ander: Good**

**Reina: Okay**

**Ander: Okay**

Talk about bizarre. For about ten minutes after receiving Ander’s last message, Reina had actually contemplated to continue replying, but what would she say? It would be stupid to type “Okay” again.

So in the end, she had flung her phone to the other side of the bed and decided to call it a night.

Now, looking at Matteo who was sitting beside her and talking animatedly, Reina thought belatedly that the reason for how she was feeling – it could’ve been related to the fact that she had oh-so-casually cheated on her boyfriend.

_I’m sorry, babe._

So this sensation that was prickling under her skin... Was it guilt? She couldn’t be sure – she had to admit that she rarely ever felt guilty. She didn’t need to. Everyone else would normally give in and fix the situation for her.

But this time, it was all on her. Her impulsive decision to follow Ander back home. And to smoke weed together, of all things.

Reina hated that she had lost control. After all, she had worked too hard to get to where she was today – with Matteo, and her rock-solid status in school. And she could’ve lost it all, in just one night.

Well, it wouldn’t happen again. She would make damn sure of that.

“Reina? Hel-looo?” Noel said loudly.

Reina had just noticed that the entire table was staring at her.

“I zoned out,” she muttered casually, tossing her head back and sending her hair over her left shoulder. “What are we talking about?”

Matteo smirked. “Emilia was suggesting a good old arm wrestling match between me and that Ander Muñoz. But Noel thinks that’s boring and we should go for something more extreme – like a habanero pepper eating contest. But after the insane shots competition we had the last time, I’m not crazy about over-consuming anything again.”

“Hmm.” Reina pursed her red glossy lips in thought. “We definitely want something out of the ordinary... At the same time, it should be something we have an advantage over Las Encinas.”

“Well, that’s easy. Being in San Patricio is already an advantage over any Las Encinas dumbass by default,” Noel pointed out.

Matteo laughed and bumped fists with Noel, while Kate and Emilia exchanged amused grins.

Reina ignored them, taking a bite from her serrano ham, manchego and apple sandwich as she continued brainstorming. There had to be something spectacular and wildly challenging that they could throw at Las Encinas. Something maybe even... dangerous?

“I’ve got it.” Reina sat forward, slapping her palm on the table.

“What? What?” Kate asked in gleeful anticipation.

“You guys know the cliffs near my family’s lake house, right?” Reina smiled. “My idea is for Matteo to challenge Ander to a sprint on the short trail that leads to one of the cliffs, followed by a dive off of that cliff into the lake below. The first one to swim back to dry land wins.”

“Nice,” Noel approved, nodding his head enthusiastically.

“Yeah. Matteo is strong in both running and swimming. He’d win for sure,” Emilia remarked with a glint in her green eyes.

“Babe, you always come up with the most wicked ideas,” Matteo told Reina with an affectionate smile. “Let’s do it.”

Reina smiled back at Matteo. “I was also thinking... The punishment for the loser can be spiced up. Instead of getting beaten up by the winner, how about we make the loser put on a cheerleading outfit and cheer at the winner’s next school game? It’ll be super public and humiliating.”

“Oh my God,” Kate squealed in equal parts of horror and excitement. “That’s brilliant.”

“This is why you’re the queen, Reina,” Emilia quipped, shaking her head in awe.

Reina relaxed her posture and reclined into her chair, feeling pleased with herself. Sure, there might have been a temporary glitch earlier, but now the usual scheming Reina was back in action.

 _Good luck, Ander_ , she thought. _I hope you have some good cheerleading moves up your sleeve._


	10. The Other Side

“Ander, you are not going to believe this,” Christian said in a hushed voice on Tuesday afternoon.

Ander looked up from the chemistry class notes he was studying on his Surface Book. “What is it?”

Christian rubbed the back of his neck as he read the text he had just received on his phone. “Next challenge: Meet at Vicalvaro Lake this Saturday at 2pm. Sprint, cliff jump and swim. First one to reach the lakeshore wins. Challenge is only between Matteo and Ander.”

Since they were at the school library, Ander resorted to cursing under his breath. “Are you serious? They still want to continue with this stupid game?”

“Looks like it, my friend.”

“Who sent you the text anyway?”

“Kate.”

Ander couldn’t help raising an eyebrow. “She has your number?”

Christian smiled smugly. “She couldn’t resist the old Christian charm. We exchanged numbers at Club54 after the drinking challenge was over and all of you were out cold.”

“And I thought you were loyal to Carla,” Ander remarked with a slight smile.

“There’s plenty of me to go around, bro,” Christian replied without missing a beat.

“Yeah, well, just be careful with these San Patricio people. You never know what their agenda is. They could just be using you,” Ander warned, as thoughts of Reina suddenly emerged.

Was _he_ being used by Reina? Was that what last Sunday was about? Did she go home with him just to carry out some elaborate plan that was part of the challenge this coming Saturday?

Ander couldn’t figure it out. Couldn’t figure _her_ out. And he couldn’t figure out why he would even want to...

“What’s the whole rivalry thing with San Patricio about anyway?” Christian asked, bringing Ander’s focus back to their conversation. “How did it start?”

Ander shrugged. “It was just a dumb football match that took place two years ago. I wasn’t there but I heard that it was the finals and San Patricio was leading by one goal, until one of their players received a red card. San Patricio argued and fought hard against the referee’s decision, which only led to another San Patricio player being red-carded. There was a penalty kick for Las Encinas and we scored on that penalty kick.

“Then with San Patricio down by two players, we managed to net one more goal later and that won us the game.”

“Damn!” Christian proclaimed, forgetting to keep his voice low.

“SHH.” A female classmate who was sitting nearby shot Christian an annoyed look.

“Sorry,” Christian whispered to her before turning back to Ander. “No wonder San Patricio is still mad after all these years. They must’ve thought that victory was in their hands, before the whole double red card thing happened.”

“Yeah. And it didn’t help that they later found out that the referee was the uncle of one of the students at Las Encinas. So there might have been some favoritism going on during the game. I think San Patricio asked for a rematch but the request was rejected.”

“That must’ve been intense.” Christian let out a chuckle. “And now everything got dragged up again because you couldn’t keep your hands off of a San Patricio girl – who happens to be the girlfriend of the current football team’s captain.”

_If you only knew just how much my hands was on her on Sunday night._

“The thing with Reina was just unlucky. And I don’t even care about football,” Ander said with a sigh.

“Who’s saying you care about football?” Lu quipped, appearing at the table with Guzmán.

“Hey, Lu. Hey, Guzmán. We were just talking about the football match with San Patricio that made us rival schools,” Ander explained, frowning, as Lu and Guzmán took seats opposite him and Christian.

“Yeah, and now Matteo and gang have issued us a second challenge,” Christian announced. He proceeded to fill Lu and Guzmán in on the details of the challenge.

“They’re out of their fucking minds,” Lu stated, dramatically lifting up a finger to punctuate her point.

“SHHHH.” The same female schoolmate showed her annoyance to Lu this time.

“Oh shut up, Fabiana,” Lu snarled. “We’re in the middle of a very important discussion here.”

“Lu, we’re at the library,” Guzmán reminded her gently. “She has the right to shush us.”

“Fine, I’ll lower my voice _a tiny bit_ ,” Lu relented, placing a possessive hand on Guzmán’s leg.

Christian hissed at Ander, “Reina reminds me of Lu. Don’t you think they both act alike?”

“I heard that,” Lu said with a death glare at Christian. “Don’t you ever compare me with that bitch. She’s trash. And I’m a diamond, darling.”

Guzmán shared an amused grin with Ander. They both agreed with Christian, of course, but knew better than to say anything to aggravate Lu.

“We need to think about our strategy for this Saturday,” Guzmán swiftly changed the topic. His face grew serious. “The challenge... Ander, you could get hurt if you’re not careful. Do we even know how high the cliff will be?”

“Why are we even entertaining this challenge in the first place?” Lu questioned. Her perfectly plucked eyebrows pulled into a frown. “If that stupid San Patricio ringleader wants to risk his life with this, he can go ahead.”

“It’s tough,” Christian said. “We already started with the drinking challenge last weekend. It’ll be hard for Ander to back down now.”

“Maybe I should just let Matteo throw that ten punches at me. Get it over and done with,” Ander muttered. “I’m tired of this.”

“I’m not going to let anyone touch that gorgeous face of yours, Ander,” Lu told him protectively. “There has to be some other way.”

“Why don’t we go and check out the place first?” Christian suggested. “It’s possible that it won’t be as dangerous as we’re imagining it to be.”

“That’s actually a good idea,” Guzmán said with obvious reluctance about agreeing with Christian. “But you’re not coming with us. We can handle this on our own. This isn’t your school, Christian, so it’s not your battle to fight.”

“Don’t be an idiot, Guzmán,” Christian shot back with surprising firmness. “Look, I’m in communication with Kate, one of the San Patricio girls. I can try digging up more information for Ander – who _is_ my friend, and that’s who I’m helping. Not you. Not Lu.”

Ander gave Christian a grateful smile. In fact, he was thankful for the support of all of his friends, even though this was entirely his own mess to deal with.

And hopefully Christian was right. Maybe Vicalvaro Lake wouldn’t be as dangerous as they had thought.

* * *

“Okay, we’re fucked,” Christian breathed, shaking his head.

Ander was inclined to agree as he stood on the edge of the cliff and looked down – way, way down – at the deep blue waters of Vicalvaro Lake.

“It’s not _that_ bad,” Lu said with evident hesitance in her voice. “Ander, you can easily make the jump.. right?”

“Sure. I’m just not sure if I would _survive_ the jump,” Ander quipped, squinting his eyes in the blazing Tuesday afternoon sun.

“Well, I don’t see how the San Patricio guy is going to have it easy either with this challenge,” Guzmán commented as he placed a hand on Ander’s shoulder and shuddered when he peeked at the drop.

“It’s a death wish for sure,” Christian agreed.

“This is stupid. Can’t you text your little girlfriend and ask her for a new challenge or something?” Lu demanded from Christian in a bossy tone.

“As awesome of a person as I am, I don’t think I have that kind of pull with Kate...” Christian protested, shrugging helplessly.

“Maybe there’s a trick or a shortcut that they know about and we don’t?” Guzmán theorized. “They wouldn’t propose something like this without being confident of carrying it out successfully.”

“I suppose I can try asking Kate...” Christian said with more than a slight doubt in his voice.

Ander exhaled loudly to no one in particular. There _was_ someone else they could try asking – or rather, _he_ could.

But would she even respond?

Well, there was only one way to find out.

Ander slid his phone out from his pants pocket and began typing a text message.

**Ander: Reina, the challenge this Saturday at Vicalvaro Lake. It’s insane. Do you know anything that would help prevent my imminent death or severe body injuries?**

After sending the message, Ander pocketed his phone. He focused again on his surroundings. The tall pine trees and cool highlands air actually made for a peaceful environment to hang out in – if Ander was in any other situation. Not in this one though.

It looked like he was out of luck this time.

Ander felt his phone buzz. He quickly retrieved it and checked the screen. There was a reply, which he responded to immediately.

**Reina: Dramatic, much?**

**Reina: And even if I did know anything, why should I help you? I’m with the other side, in case you forgot**

**Ander: Come on. I thought we were.. well, something more than rivals, after last weekend**

**Reina: You’re wrong then. We’ll always be rivals and nothing more**

**Reina: And did you ask for my number just so you could try to gain info from me? Lame!**

**Ander: ... Of course not. Why would you even think that?**

**Reina: Let’s be real, Ander. We’re both caught in a game and we have to play whether we like it or not**

**Ander: Fine. I’m pulling out from the challenge and ending this whole damn thing now. Tell Matteo he can come over and beat me up whenever**

**Reina: No way!! Don’t you dare. Please don’t be a party pooper, Ander**

**Reina: Okay fine. I suppose I can tell you one little thing...**

**Reina: When you jump, aim for the right side, closer to the shrubs. The water is calmer there and less shallow. Oh, and jump with your feet first. Look up pencil dive if you need to**

**Ander: And that will guarantee I come out of the challenge alive?**

**Reina: Yup**

**Ander: How do I know you’re not just tricking me?**

**Reina: You don’t. Take it or leave it**

**Ander: Thanks.. I think**

**Reina: Best of luck. May the best man win this Saturday**

**Ander: I have a feeling you’re not referring to me**

**Reina: No comment ;) Bye, Ander**

“Dude, quit staring at your phone and start worrying about the fate of your life this Saturday!”

Christian’s chiding words jolted Ander. He looked up and was met with three pairs of concerned-looking eyes.

“Christian. Lu. Guzmán,” Ander addressed his friends, sucking in his right cheek as he thought about the tips that Reina had shared – and this was assuming she wasn’t playing him.

He continued, “I know you’re all worried about me, but.. I think I’m going to do fine this Saturday. Let’s go check out the trail and then the lake below.”

“Wow, where did this new confidence come from?” Lu inquired curiously as she linked her arm with Ander’s and they started walking toward the trail in question.

A tiny smile tugged at one corner of Ander’s lips. “I guess you could say it’s from the most unlikely place. But I have a good feeling about it.”


	11. Inexplicable

Reina exhaled in great exasperation as she stared at her walk-in wardrobe. This was a major catastrophe – despite the impressive expanse of the wardrobe, she had no idea what to wear.

Saturday had come around quicker than Reina had anticipated. She was the slightest bit nervous, if she were to be honest with herself.

Because of Matteo, of course.

Even though it was pretty much a sure-fire win for him later today, it was still undeniably a dangerous challenge for anyone.

And it had been raining the night before, so the trail would have some very slippery parts. She hoped Matteo remembered; he’d been on that trail several times before with her.

“Come on, Reina. Just pick an outfit and get going,” she muttered to herself as she checked the time on her phone. Noel was driving and giving her and Matteo a lift. He should be arriving in less than ten minutes.

Reina’s hands deftly went through her wardrobe collection, pushing one clothes hanger down the rail after another. At last, she settled on her favorite dark blue denim jacket, a moss green flannel shirt and black jeans.

And for the final touch, Reina reached for the jewelry box containing her rings. Lately she had been obsessed with her black vintage Alhambra ring from Van Cleef & Arpels.

A frown formed on her eyebrows as she continued to rummage around the jewelry box, unable to find the clover-leafed ring.

When was the last time she’d worn the ring? Could it be...

“Oh no,” Reina whispered her thoughts out loud. “Shit, no.”

She recalled now. She’d been wearing the ring last Sunday, when she met up with Omar for her weed supply. And then bumped into Ander. And then dropped by his house.

As if on cue, a previously buried memory surfaced from the depths of her mind – the memory of removing her ring and placing it on Ander’s study table, before she tucked into her pizza. Did she put the ring back on before she left? It didn’t seem so.

_Good job, Reina. Now you have to contact Ander if you want your ring back._

It wasn’t that Reina disliked interacting with Ander, no. In fact, his messages would even make her smile sometimes. For some weird, inexplicable reason.

But now that the rivalry between San Patricio and Las Encinas was heating up and the dare game had gone into full swing, it would be foolish for Reina to have any affiliation with Las Encinas students.

If Matteo or any of her friends ever found out, what would it to her reputation? She would lose reign of her school. And that was unthinkable.

But on the other hand, this particular ring wasn’t exactly replaceable. It had been a sixteenth birthday gift from her mother, who had inherited the ring from her grandmother.

She needed the ring back.

Reina’s eyes turned upward to her ceiling for a second, as if hoping for a miraculous solution to magically fall into her hands.

Of course, nothing of that sort happened.

With a sigh, Reina grabbed her phone laying on the vanity dresser. She’d just make this quick and painless.

**Reina: Hi Ander. I believe my ring was accidentally left on your study table. Could you check? It’s a clover leaf design, black onyx with a diamond in the middle**

**Ander: Hi Reina. Okay let me go take a look**

**Ander: I found it**

**Reina: Great!!**

**Ander: I can pass the ring to you later today at Vicalvaro Lake**

**Reina: That may not be the best time...**

**Ander: Why? Ashamed to talk to me when your boyfriend and friends are around?**

**Reina: Yes**

**Ander: I can always count on you being brutally honest**

**Reina: You’re welcome**

**Ander: So when should we do it then?**

**Reina: Do “it”? Do you want to be more specific, Ander? ;)**

**Ander: Reina...**

**Reina: Yes, Ander?**

**Ander: Is everything always a game to you?**

**Reina: Of course not... Mostly, yes. But I wouldn’t say 100% everything is :P**

**Ander: Hmm**

**Reina; Okay back to the topic. I’ll get the ring back from you another day. I’ll text you again to arrange the time and place, okay?**

**Ander: Okay**

**Reina: Okay**

**Reina: Good luck out there today**

**Ander: Thanks. If I don’t make it out alive, you can ask my mom for your ring back**

**Reina: Haha Ander Muñoz, you’re as dramatic as always!**

**Ander: I hope I’m only exaggerating**

**Reina: Lol bye Ander**

**Ander: Bye Reina**

As Reina clicked the side button to switch off her phone screen, she caught her reflection in the vanity dresser’s mirror.

Yup, there was that inexplicable smile on her face again.

* * *

“My beer is getting warm,” Kate whined after taking a sip from the can she held with her slender fingers.

“Do you want me to get a fresh new cold can from the car for you?” Noel offered.

“I think I’m getting some bug bites on my legs,” Emilia chimed in with her own complaint.

Reina moved several steps away from her friends, not bothering to hide her irritation. They were being too noisy and distracting her from focusing on the challenge, which had begun a little over five minutes ago.

Their group stood on one side of the clifftop path, in a strategic spot that was shaded from direct sunlight and provided a great view – they would be able to see Matteo and Ander when they emerged from the trail and make the cliff jump, which could be anytime now.

Meanwhile, Eric and Christian were stationed at the bottom where the lake was. They were responsible for determining the first person to get to shore after plunging into the waters.

Reina threw a glance at the opposite side of the path, where the Las Encinas group had huddled. The petite blond girl. The haughty-looking brunette girl. The tall blond boy. His dark-haired sidekick with the intense blue eyes.

These Las Encinas people weren’t talking much to one another. Most of them wore anxious expressions on their faces, looking out for signs of Ander appearing.

_Good, they should be worried._

Matteo was going to win, and then Ander would have to go through the very public, utterly humiliating cheerleading punishment.

That would teach these Las Encinas losers a lesson. They would think twice about cheating in football games – or anything else.

_“School rivalry is stupid to me.”_

Shit. Why did Ander’s words float into her mind all of a sudden?

Reina could feel a scowl forming on her face.

Damn that Ander Muñoz, thinking he was so mature and above it all. And right when she was in the middle of defending her stance in this whole school rivalry thing, he had the audacity to cut her off. With a kiss!

Who did such things?! Never mind that it wasn’t too long ago when Reina herself had used kissing as a way to steal that last piece of ice cube from Ander at Club54...

“Nooo, Ander is leading!” Emilia’s shrill voice immediately pulled Reina out of her thoughts.

Reina saw the running figure in sweat-drenched curls and sucked in her breath. It was true. Ander was in the lead.

Matteo was right behind him, but it looked like Ander wasn’t breaking stride at all.

Reina had honestly never considered the possibility of Ander winning the challenge. Matteo was a star athlete and fit as anything. Plus, he knew the trail fairly well. How could this be happening?

Ander was fast approaching the two groups. As he was about to run past them, his gaze locked with Reina’s for a second.

Reina wasn’t sure what happened – but in the next moment, Ander lost his balance slightly and stumbled. He managed to recover from it quickly, but the momentum was gone.

Matteo took advantage of Ander’s split-second falter, caught up and then sprinted past Ander.

“OHHH!” Both the San Patricio and Las Encinas groups let out yelps of surprise.

Reina clapped a hand over her mouth as she watched Matteo confidently take the leap from the edge of the cliff. Ander followed immediately after Matteo.

And with that, both boys vanished from Reina’s sight.


	12. Vulnerable

Ander couldn’t remember much about the cliff jump.

All he recalled was how for one moment, he felt free as a bird, suspended against a blue sky canvas. And then the next thing he knew, he was surrounded by murky green lake water.

He was supposed to push to get to the surface. But which way was up?

It took a few seconds to notice the glinting sunlight piercing through Vicalvaro Lake’s waters, but once the direction was clear, Ander went on full throttle.

Kicking his strong legs into motion, he broke through the water surface in almost no time.

The first intake of air felt both invigorating and painful. It was as if his lungs had forgotten how to process oxygen.

“COME ON, ANDER! MOVE! YOU CAN DO IT!”

Spurred by the sound of Christian’s yelling voice, Ander sharpened his focus and began swimming furiously toward the shore.

As his arms continuously sliced the lake water, he could hear another male voice – presumably Eric’s – that was cheering Matteo on.

“Go Matteo, go! Almost there!”

Was Matteo still ahead of him? It was difficult for Ander to see. All he had was Christian’s figure as visual guidance for the end point to this challenge.

It felt like an eternity before Ander’s fingertips brushed against solid land. He gasped in exhaustion as strong arms gripped his own arms and pulled him out of the water.

“Ander, you okay man?”

“God, he weighs a ton. Help me pull from this side, Polo.”

“Oh no, he’s bleeding. I’ll go get some gauze pads and band-aids.”

A flurry of different voices flew around Ander. A few moments later, he found himself lying on the ground with a fuzzy terry cloth towel wrapped around his shoulders.

“Ander?” Lu’s face hovered over, her eyebrows knitted in deep concern. “How are you feeling, honey?”

Ander squinted his eyes. “Like roadkill. It feels like the drinking challenge at Club54 all over again, with all of you staring down at me this way.”

Carla, who was standing next to Lu, had to stifle a giggle. “Come to think of it...” she mused.

“It’s not funny,” Lu remarked impatiently. “How many times does Ander need to put his life in danger for some stupid dare from big-time jerks that we don’t even care about? And he didn’t even win –”

“I didn’t?” Ander tried to sit up but immediately regretted it, wincing as several body parts began to ache – particularly his ribs.

“Easy, buddy,” Christian said, bending down and placing a hand gently on Ander’s shoulder. “You probably bruised your ribs when you hit the water. You’ve got some cuts on your arms and one above your eyebrow too.”

“So Matteo won?” Ander asked flatly.

Guzmán crouched down so he could look at Ander on the same eye level. “Yeah, he did. Tough luck. It was really close, according to Christian.”

Ander shook his head and groaned. “So I’ll have to become a cheerleader at the next San Patricio sports game?”

Before the challenge had begun that day, Eric had informed Ander and his friends about the new punishment for the loser. Ander wasn’t crazy about the idea of short skirts, pom-poms and cheering on for a bunch of useless jocks that didn’t even go to his school – but Guzmán and Polo had gotten pretty excited. And they were confident in Ander’s athletic abilities. So they agreed to it.

“Guzmán and I will do the punishment with you, Ander,” Polo declared. “We’re in this together.”

“Well count me out, boys,” Christian said quickly. “My legs don’t look good in a mini skirt.”

“Traitor,” Lu accused Christian, rolling her eyes.

Ander shook his head in utter disappointment at himself. “I had the lead but then I lost it. I’m a dumbass.”

His mind replayed the scene where he burst out of the woods, on a runner’s high, with Matteo panting behind him. He’d been on track to win, but then...

Something happened. But what, exactly?

_Reina._

The instant Ander’s eyes had landed on her face, he’d been seized by the strangest sensation. It was the kind of electricity that amped all of his senses and yet brought everything crashing down the next second.

Ander saw golden before the darkest black took over.

And that was when he lost focus, stumbled and almost fell.

“Yeah, what happened back there after the woods, Ander?” Polo questioned with curiosity.

Rubbing his face in frustration with one hand, Ander muttered, “I honestly can’t explain it.”

* * *

“Ander, why are you at school today? You should’ve taken a few more days off to recover,” Guzmán chided as he saw Ander strolling slowly up the steps that led to Las Encinas’s entrance.

Ander shrugged his shoulders. “I’m fine. The ribs are still sore but bearable. And I got bored of staring at my bedroom ceiling the entire day.”

“Do you need to get the ribs checked by a doctor or something?” Guzmán asked, worried.

“Nah.” Ander cracked a small grin. “And at least my injury is getting me out of tennis for the time being.”

“I must say, I don’t quite understand that.” Guzmán studied Ander’s face. “You’re a talented tennis player. Why throw it away?”

“Simple. I don’t want my dad to use it as a way to control me.”

Judging by Guzmán’s perplexed look, Ander knew that his best friend of over 10 years could never relate to what he felt in this particular aspect. Guzmán had a strong bond with his family, and thought the world of his father especially.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” Christian greeted from behind Ander.

Ander and Guzmán turned to see Polo standing next to Christian.

Christian continued, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...”

“Then don’t be,” Guzmán told him curtly. “Nobody is interested in whatever you have to say.”

“No, you two want to listen to this,” Polo insisted, backing Christian up.

“All right, what is it?” Ander asked with a sigh, bracing for the worst.

“It’s about the cheerleading punishment,” Christian revealed. “Kate just told me that it’ll take place two weeks from now at their home game against the Academia El Pilar football team. And they’ve kindly provided the cheer song mix too...”

Guzmán covered his face with both hands. “Please don’t tell me there’s Britney Spears in the mix.”

“No, but there are Destiny’s Child, Katy Perry and Demi Lovato...”

Polo and Ander groaned at the same time.

“By the way, Ander, I hope you’re not still hooking up with Reina,” Christian said.

Ander looked at Christian, careful to maintain a neutral expression. “No... Why?”

Christian looked back at Ander. “According to Kate, the cheerleading punishment was Reina’s idea. In fact, she was the one who came up with the entire challenge – the sprint in the woods and the cliff jump. Her parents own a lake house nearby and she probably gave Matteo all the tips he needed to win.”

“What the hell? Doesn’t that count as cheating?” Guzmán exclaimed.

“It’s definitely playing dirty,” Polo said with a frown.

Ander shifted his gaze to a random point in the distance as he took the time to process Christian’s words.

He shouldn’t have been this shocked about Reina.

This was after all a girl who had made it clear about how competitive she was, and how loyal she was to her school. She cared only for her own interests and could never be trusted.

_Guess I was a big old fool._

Only fools allowed themselves to be used.

To be toyed around.

To be manipulated.

To be vulnerable...

And to be hurt by someone who was incapable of feeling hurt themselves.


	13. Misbehave

Reina was hit by a sense of foreboding right before she stepped into her house. She wanted to turn around and run back into Matteo’s car, but it was too late. He’d already sped off.

 _Maybe it’s nothing. It could all be in your pretty little messed up head, Reina,_ she mentally scolded herself.

Still, seeing the glow of the lit-up living room through the window made Reina nervous. When was the last time someone actually occupied the living room anyway?

Well, there was only one way to find out.

Reina took a deep breath then punched the combination code on the door lock’s keypad.

She crossed the long hallway that led to the intricately decorated living room, and began to frown when she saw the scene that laid before her.

“Reina, you’re back,” her father observed from where he was sitting in an armchair by the fireplace.

“Come and sit with us, dear,” her mother intoned in a voice much warmer than her father’s.

“No thanks. I’m really tired so I think I’ll just head to my room,” Reina announced.

“Sit,” her father instructed. “We have some news to share with you.”

Reina crossed her arms impatiently. “Whatever it is, can’t you just say it in a text? Like how you usually do?”

“Reina.” Her mother looked hurt.

Heaving a sigh, Reina relented and dropped into the nearest chair.

“Were you out with Matteo?” her mother asked.

Reina nodded wordlessly, with zero interest in carrying on with the small chit chat.

“Look, Reina. We have some big news.” Her father glanced at her to make sure she was listening before he continued, “My firm has just formed a partnership with the biggest construction company in Madrid and we’ll begin several global projects soon.”

“Yes, it’s very exciting,” her mother chimed in with a smile.

Reina’s expression remained uninterested. “Congratulations, I guess. Can I go up to my room now please?”

“There’s a major gala event this weekend, to celebrate this partnership among other things,” her father announced, choosing to ignore what she’d said. “It’ll be held at a wine cave and all the important people will be there. You and your mother will join me at this gala.”

There it was. They were now getting to her father’s motivation behind this whole conversation.

“Really? Well, as fun as it sounds, I already have plans this weekend,” Reina told her father, staring at him right in the eye.

“It’s unfortunate but you’ll have to cancel those plans,” her father replied in a cool but unmistakably steely tone, meeting her defiant gaze without hesitation.

Reina knew he was putting on his corporate big-boss-from-hell attitude. However, unlike his tragically meek subordinates, she wasn’t intimidated at all. “It’s unfortunate but I have free will and my own life to lead.”

Her father glanced at her mother, and Reina knew she was screwed. She couldn’t stand her father, but she did have a soft spot for her mother.

“Reina dear, it’s been so long since we’ve had an outing together as a family...” Her mother gave Reina the biggest, most hopeful smile. “I’m really looking forward to this wine gala, and I think you’ll enjoy it too. Can you please reschedule the initial plans you have for this weekend?”

Reina sighed, wondering if it was worth arguing with her parents about this. “The thing is, I’ve already made plans with Matteo and my friends to have a weekend getaway at La Concha Beach,” she explained. “We’ve booked the hotel and everything.”

“This is not a negotiation, Reina,” her father said firmly. “Just do as what your mother and I have asked.”

“How is this asking if I’m not allowed to say no?” Reina’s dark eyes flashed with fury.

“You can say no... But you will be grounded for a week. And I will take away your credit cards and cell phone,” her father told her.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Reina didn’t hold back on her anger. She slammed her palms against the chair’s armrests and stood up indignantly. “I’m done with this conversation.”

She stormed out of the living room, ignoring the frantic plea of her mother as she tried to call Reina to come back.

* * *

“Diego, it’s good to see you.”

Reina’s father stopped to shake the hand of a silver-haired middle-aged man in a sharp black tuxedo. “Florentino, how are you, my old friend?” he asked jovially.

Reina chose to walk ahead, leaving her mother to stand by her father’s side as he made small talk with various business associates at the wine gala.

_Someone please get me out of here._

Her heavily lined eyes scanned the surroundings – the wine cave was majestic yet cold and depressing. Everyone was dressed in beautiful gowns and expensive suits, but nobody wore a genuine smile.

The whole scene was enough to make Reina sick. She hated this feeling of utter loneliness amidst the crowd.

It wasn’t just the fact that she pretty much got threatened by her father to attend the wine gala. What made it worse was that Matteo and the rest of the gang – Emilia, Kate and Noel – had decided to go on with the La Concha Beach trip without her. She had tried to talk her father into extending the wine gala invitation to the entire gang, or Matteo at the very least, but he’d refused to.

Reina had never been so furious. At her father, her boyfriend and her so-called friends.

There was only one way to make it through this miserable night, and it was called alcohol. Reina snapped her fingers at a waiter who was serving glinting glasses of red wine on a tray.

When the waiter approached her, she took a glass by its dainty stem and finished the burgundy-hued liquid in one gulp.

She then placed the empty glass back on the tray and grabbed a second glass of wine.

“Reina?”

At the sound of her name, she frowned and turned around. “Christian?” she asked incredulously.

“Hello,” he greeted with a grin.

“Why are _you_ here?”

“What, I don’t look high-society enough to be here?” Christian teased, rolling his eyes.

“Actually, yeah,” Reina replied, smirking as she sipped her wine.

“Hey, I can be a total snob just as much as anyone here in this party can,” Christian said, putting on a dramatically haughty look and pointing his nose upwards. “Anyway, I’m here because Carla invited me. Her mother is The Marchioness who owns this wine cave.”

“So are the rest of your loser Las Encinas friends here too?” Reina couldn’t help wondering about one curly-haired person in particular...

“Yup. The usual suspects.” Christian studied her face. “Why, looking for Ander?”

“Why would I be?” Reina shrugged.

“Hopefully because you felt guilty and wanted to apologize to him?” Christian suggested. “You know you basically set him up for failure at Vicalvaro Lake. Matteo had an unfair advantage because of you.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, and frankly I don’t care,” Reina snapped, tired of the exchange with Christian already. The night just kept getting more annoying.

“All right, all right. Let’s change the subject,” Christian said, maintaining his easy grin. “You look really hot, by the way.”

Reina gave Christian a bored stare. She was well aware that her tight, long red dress was great at flattering her curves, but it was certainly not meant to attract the attention of pathetic characters like Christian.

“Look, I’m not Kate. Save your breath for someone who’d actually appreciate a compliment from you.”

“Yeah, Kate is really sweet to me. She’s single, right? Is she here too?”

“She’s just giving you pity attention. And no, she isn’t here. I’m sure she’s glad she isn’t, since this is evidently turning out to be a disgusting Las Encinas congregation.”

“We’re not that disgusting once you get to know us better,” a new male voice piped in, dripping in sarcasm.

Reina mildly recognized the good-looking Las Encinas boy who had joined the conversation. He’d been there with Ander in the drinking challenge at Club54. The one with dark hair and intense blue eyes.

Next to him was the petite blond girl whom Reina had seen several times before too. She was looking extra stunning tonight in a bright fuchsia dress.

Reina couldn’t recall their names, which Christian must’ve sensed because he immediately cleared his throat and said, “Allow me to do a proper introduction for everyone’s sake. Carla and Polo, this is Reina. Reina, please meet Carla and Polo.”

Reina threw them a disinterested glance and focused on drinking from her glass. It was clear that Carla and Polo were not eager to be friendly either.

“Christian, who is your new friend?” A girl in ginger curls showed up with a boy who appeared tense and looked like he wanted to be here at the event as much as Reina did.

“Marina and Samu! This is Reina. Reina, say hello to Marina and Samuel. Marina is Guzmán’s sister. Guzmán is the tall blond guy who looks like he has a stick up his ass most of the time, in case you don’t know him.”

Marina laughed in amusement. “Yeah, Guzmán can drive people crazy sometimes.”

“That’s the understatement of the year,” Samuel muttered.

“Let’s get a fresh round of wine glasses and toast to, uhh, this wonderful party,” Christian declared, seemingly determined to make the group more comfortable with one another.

_Okay, if we’re going to keep the drinks coming, then I won’t mind sticking around with you losers, I suppose._

Reina drank quietly and observed the Las Encinas people as they kept up a steady stream of chatter. It was strange, but for a fleeting moment, she didn’t feel so lonely.

Christian ensured that a waiter was on standby with a full bottle of wine, ready to refill anyone’s glass as soon as it was empty.

By the fifth glass, Reina had a nice alcohol buzz going. She was even ready to admit that perhaps the night wasn’t entirely a disaster after all –

“Reina.” Her father appeared, his arms crossed and his eyes darting suspiciously from her to the Las Encinas group.

“Yes?” she asked casually.

“I need to talk to you in private. Will you please excuse yourself from your... friends?”

Reina sighed and stepped out of the circle, leaving Christian and the rest to look on with curiosity.

“What do you want now?” she muttered.

Through gritted teeth, her father said, “Are you drunk? You’re being even ruder than normal.”

Reina merely shrugged her shoulders.

A second later, her mother had walked up to them and patted at her father’s arm gently.

Her father ignored the gesture and continued talking in a highly irked tone to Reina. “Can’t you stop misbehaving for once? You’re supposed to stay with me and your mother at this party. My business partners wanted to meet my daughter, but clearly she was too busy to understand the meaning of family respect.”

Reina couldn’t help it – she lost her temper. She glared at her father, hissing, “ _Family?_ First of all, we’re not a family. It’s bullshit. We’ve stopped being a family for years now, so why bother keeping up a pretense?”

Her mother gasped, clapping a frail hand over her mouth.

Reina’s rage and speaking volume grew as she continued, “Mom, you know you’re unhappy and emotionally unstable, but you don’t have the guts to kick Dad out because for some stupid reason, you still love his sorry ass! Even after all the fucked up things he’s done, having one disgusting affair after another. One ‘business trip’ after another. He’ll never change. Yet he’d never leave you solely because of your massive inherited wealth, Mom.”

Her father’s eyes nearly bulged out from anger, but before he could verbally respond, Reina spun on her heels and stormily walked away.

She was done with this damn party and the whole damn world.

“Reina!” Christian called out, trying to catch her.

“Get the fuck away from me, Christian,” Reina snarled as she continued walking quickly toward the exit.

Reina was in such a rush to leave that she didn’t notice the person who emerged from a corridor until it was too late – and found herself crashing into his arms.

She glanced up at the same time he looked down.

“Reina?” Ander said in confusion.


	14. Relinquish

“Why are you here?” Ander questioned Reina, who was frantically pulling herself away from his arms.

“I was just leaving,” she replied briskly, anger coloring her voice. She took a step forward but appeared to wobble in her heels – was she drunk?

“Reina! Come on, wait up,” Christian called out as he approached her and Ander.

“What’s going on, Christian?” Ander asked.

“Maybe you can get Reina to calm down,” Christian said, glancing at her worriedly.

“Shut up, Christian. I don’t need to calm down,” Reina insisted, pushing away a stray lock of hair from her face impatiently. “I just need to get out of here.”

Christian switched his focus to Ander, telling him, “She’s had a lot to drink, and she just had an argument with her father back there.”

“Her father’s here too?” Ander’s forehead crinkled in further confusion.

He thought he’d stepped away from his friends for just a while, but it looked like he’d missed a hell of a lot in that short span of time.

“Don’t even mention him, please. He’s a fucking asshole,” Reina announced. “And I’m going now. Goodbye.”

“Hold on. Are you headed home, Reina? Do you have a ride?” Ander questioned.

“Luis is parked at the entrance, waiting for me.” Reina exhaled loudly and threw Ander a scowl. “Now are we done with all the questions?”

“I’ll follow you to the car,” Ander decided. Despite the hurt and other less-than-positive feelings he currently had toward Reina, he still wanted to ensure her safety.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Christian said. “She’s all yours, man.”

Reina shook her head, her eyes narrowed into furious slits. “I don’t need anyone to look out for me. I’m fine and perfectly capable of walking to my car on my own.”

“Let’s just go, okay?” Ander gently touched Reina’s wrist and hoped she wouldn’t lash out against him. He would like to get this over with and move on to.. other agendas for the night.

Reina rolled her eyes but allowed Ander to take her hand as they started making their way to the exit, leaving Christian behind.

“I don’t get why you and all these damn Las Encinas people keep appearing wherever I go,” she complained in annoyance.

“I could say the same about you,” Ander replied dryly. “This is a party thrown by Guzmán’s and Marina’s parents and the wine cave is owned by Carla’s mother. How in the world did you get invited?”

“I don’t know. My father has some business with Guzmán’s and Marina’s father or something,” Reina provided the answer with obvious disinterest.

“That’s nice, I guess.”

“My mother was invited too. But you’re crazy if you think it was nice. I didn’t want to be here, but my father basically blackmailed me into it. Just so he can show off his absolutely perfect family to everyone. Unfortunately, it’s all a fucking lie.”

“Why is it a lie?”

“Why should I tell you? You wouldn’t understand anyway,” Reina said coldly. “Nobody does.”

Ander didn’t pursue the topic. If Reina wasn’t in the mood to share, he wasn’t in the mood to care.

As they reached the exit and stepped out, Ander asked Reina, “Which one’s your car?”

“Black BMW SUV,” Reina replied curtly. She pulled her hand away from Ander’s gentle grip. “I’ll be able to find it. You can go now.”

“Are you sure?”

“ _Yes_. I’m not a child. I’ll be all right,” Reina huffed.

Ander stayed put anyway, and Reina ignored him. She spotted her ride pulling up and a moment later, Luis had stopped the SUV and emerged from the stationary vehicle to open the rear door for her.

Ander heard Reina as she spoke to Luis, “Take me to Maison.”

“I’m sorry, miss, but your father instructed me to drive you home,” Luis replied.

“No, you’re taking me to Maison,” Reina stated flatly.

“I have strict orders from your father, miss,” Luis informed her apologetically.

For a second, Reina looked like she was going to kick the car.

Ander strode over. “Hey, come on, Reina. Why don’t you just get in and go home? You’ve had quite a night,” he murmured.

Fury was written all over Reina’s face. “Stay the hell out of this, Ander,” she warned.

Ander sighed. Nothing was ever easy with this girl.

“Look, you really want to keep drinking?” he asked.

Reina’s stormy eyes studied Ander. “If I answered yes, then what?” she challenged.

Ander shrugged, furrowing his brows. “Well, I can retrieve a wine bottle from the gala and you can drink. But in the car.”

“Will I be drinking alone? That’s boring.” Reina looked at Ander expectantly.

“Fine, I’ll drink with you. But one bottle, and that’s it. You let Luis drive you home right after.”

“Fine. Whatever,” Reina responded, her agitation only slightly lessened.

“Okay. Wait in the car. I’ll be back.”

Thoughts swirled in Ander’s mind as he made his way back into the wine cave.

_What the fuck am I doing? Apparently, I’m a sucker for punishment._

However, Ander was determined to make this quick. Reina already looked pretty intoxicated, and hopefully after a couple of gulps from the bottle that Ander was getting, she’d be drowsy enough to be driven home without much protest. Then Ander could resume with his plans.

“Here,” Ander said when he got into the backseat of the SUV with Reina, showing the uncorked bottle of Tempranillo in his hand.

Reina was silent as she took the Tempranillo from him, tilted her head back and took a mouthful of the silky red liquid straight from the bottle.

“This is good.” She sighed and swigged again.

Ander was glad to see that Reina’s tempestuous side had subsided – at least for now.

“Want some?” Reina offered the bottle, which he accepted.

The wine _was_ good. Ander relaxed his posture, finally able to appreciate the luxurious interior comfort of the SUV.

A privacy partition wall separated him and Reina from Luis at the front. It also held a touch screen display – Ander spotted an option for music and began exploring.

“Oh, choose a Drake song,” Reina requested.

Ander couldn’t help breaking into a smile, remembering how they had shared earphones and listened to Drake together.

After a few taps on the screen, the hypnotic beats of Drake’s Toosie Slide began to fill the SUV cabin.

Letting out another contented sigh, Reina leaned back into the seat, her shoulder gently bumping into Ander’s. Her long dark hair fanned out behind her, tickling Ander’s cheek.

Ander chuckled and used his fingers to flick Reina’s hair away from his face.

Reina turned to see what he was chuckling at, and they both realized at the same time just how close they were – Ander could count every eyelash that clung to Reina’s beautiful brown eyes.

Instead of moving away, Reina inched nearer. Ander found himself drawn to her. A mysterious magnetic force. Fueled by a lot of alcohol too, probably.

The second their lips met was pure fire. All of the reservations and distrust that Ander was harboring about Reina disappeared in this one moment of wild abandon.

Ander could only think about was how amazing it felt to have Reina in his embrace. How addicted he was to the way she was biting at his lower lip. He didn’t want it to end...

Then the loud shrill ringing sound of Reina’s phone jolted them apart.

Reina reached for the phone that was sitting on the seat next to her, saw the caller’s name, and proceeded to toss the phone aside.

“Who is it?” Ander asked.

“Nobody important,” Reina responded as she cuddled close to Ander again.

Something in the way Reina spoke made Ander curious. “No, really. Who?”

Reina glanced at Ander coolly. “It’s Matteo. But don’t worry, I’ll just call him back later.”

_Matteo_.

It felt like a cold splash of water to Ander’s face. He exhaled his breath deeply as he said, “Reina, how is he nobody important? He’s your boyfriend.”

Reina ran a hand through her hair, annoyed. “I know perfectly well that he is. It’s just – I’m kind of mad at him for ditching me this weekend. And with the whole fiasco tonight with my father, I’m absolutely not in the mood to talk. I just want to distract myself and have a bit of harmless fun, you know?”

“So here I am, being used to serve your needs at your convenience again,” Ander muttered. “Right?”

“Oh come on, Ander. Don’t be melodramatic. Not now.” She sighed. “Besides, we had a good time before, didn’t we?”

“No, Reina. You need to stop doing this,” Ander told her, anger creeping into his voice.

“Do what, exactly?” The storminess returned to Reina’s eyes as she sat up straight.

“Things that you think are harmless, but they’re not. These twisted games you keep playing. Constantly blowing hot and cold. One minute, we’re good and the next, you’re devising dangerous challenges and horrible punishments for me. Giving Matteo the advantage.”

“We’re in rival schools, Ander. Of course I’m always going to help Matteo win in any way I can. It’s nothing personal.”

“Right. And you keep pretending there’s nothing going on between you and me. But when you’re in need of some attention and no one else is around to give it to you, you come to me. How fucked up is that?”

“I thought you were fine with keeping things casual, Ander. I mean, you were always aware that I have a boyfriend. I don’t know what you’re expecting from me,” Reina said, crossing her arms defensively.

“Fine. That was my fault for being an idiot. I thought...“ Ander shook his head. “I thought you were someone worth caring about. As a friend, if nothing else.”

Reina’s face darkened at his words. “Ander –“

“No, don’t bother saying anything. I get it now that you’re too self-absorbed to see past your own shallow existence. Nothing matters to you except for winning at everything. Even if it means hurting other people to achieve your victories. It’s pathetic.”

Reina glared at Ander. “I want you to leave,” she spat out.

“Gladly,” Ander answered.

He slammed the car door behind him without bothering to look back as the SUV drove away.

“Fucking hell,” Ander swore under his breath as he searched his pockets for his cigarette pack and lighter. He needed to chill out and forget ever knowing Reina Velásquez.

This was it. He was done. He was relinquishing every memory and emotion he had that were tied to her.

Deeply inhaling the smoke from his lit cigarette, Ander unlocked his phone screen and checked the three new messages waiting for him.

He then hit ‘reply’ and typed: _Sorry had to take care of some things that came up suddenly. Let’s meet now, if you’re still up for it?_


	15. Haunted

Reina couldn’t sleep that night.

She wanted to blame the adrenaline from all the wine she’d consumed, but honestly she’d never had trouble sleeping after a night of drinking before.

_No, I’m just still furious at everything that happened._

That was it. Between the mess with her father and yet another mess with Ander, it was no wonder that her ability to doze off was affected.

After Reina tossed and turned for what felt like the thousandth time, she gave up. Punching at her pillow and hoisting herself up into a sitting position on her bed, Reina stared at the inky darkness of her massive bedroom. Dawn was just breaking through the blinds of her floor-to-ceiling windows, and it felt like she was the only person awake in the entire world.

Reina retrieved her phone from the bedside table and scanned for messages. Matteo had sent several messages, asking her if she was okay and to call him back.

It was now several hours later, but Reina still tried her luck. Tapping at Matteo’s name on her phone screen, she waited for him to pick up the call. After three attempts with no answer, she gave up.

Well. If she was stuck in her room at this hour, there was really only one thing she could do.

Less than ten minutes later, Reina was lounging on the velvet sofa by her bedroom windows, puffing on a joint that she’d just rolled.

 _Maybe this is the true meaning of life_ , Reina thought hazily as her body relaxed into the comfort of the sofa _. Nobody needs anyone. All we need is weed and its sweet intoxication._

Something was still missing though – music!

Reina scrolled through her phone’s Apple Music to look for a suitable album to listen to. Her eyes caught the sight of one of Drake’s albums and her shoulders tensed up as her mind flashed back to the weed session she had with Ander in his room. With Drake providing the soundtrack to the session. The pizza. The kiss. Which led to –

“Damn you, Ander Muñoz,” Reina swore out loud. Why did he inevitably appear in her thoughts, again and again?

Almost indignantly, she selected to play an album by Rosalía.

As the pristine sound of Rosalía’s ‘Malamente’ streamed in from her room’s Bang & Olufsen speaker system, Reina inhaled from her joint and decided on one thing: She had had enough of Drake’s music in this lifetime.

* * *

Reina was dreaming about flying through clouds of candy floss when she was awakened by the persistent buzz of her phone next to her pillow.

She managed to crack one eye open to peek at the caller’s name before she answered. “What is it, Kate?” she grumbled. “I was sleeping.”

“Are you for real? It’s almost 4pm, Reina.”

“So?”

“Listen, we’re on the way back from La Concha Beach. We’re almost reaching Madrid, actually, and we’re coming to pick you up. The plan is to head to Matteo’s house. The boys and Emilia want to play tennis, but you and I can chill by the pool. The weather’s amazing today. What do you say?”

“No thanks,” Reina responded coolly. Apparently she was still not done being angry at Matteo and the rest of them for ditching her this weekend.

“Reina, don’t be mad anymore. Matteo has a surprise for you.”

“I’m not interested.”

Kate made an impatient sound. “I’m passing the phone to Matteo. Hang on.”

“Hello? Reina?” Matteo spoke.

“What is it, Matteo?” Reina muttered.

“Please just get ready, baby. We’re about 45 minutes away.”

“Look, I’m just not in the mood to socialize today.”

“You don’t have to do any socializing. Just come over and relax, okay? Kate heard from Christian that you and your father had a bad argument at the wine gala last night. I know you won’t want to be at your house today, even more so than usual...”

“Kate and Christian? Are they BFFs now? They should just set up their own IGTV account and broadcast their collective news together,” Reina quipped dryly.

Matteo chuckled. “You know that Kate is just using Christian to get any information that can be turned into our advantage. It’s a great strategy.”

Is that what Reina was doing with Ander too?

_“Nothing matters to you except for winning at everything. Even if it means hurting other people to achieve your victories.”_

Apparently Ander’s words had the ability to haunt Reina. And she hated it.

Reina decided that she definitely needed a huge distraction, otherwise she’d go crazy being alone with her thoughts, and very possibly with even more memories of Ander.

“Okay, I’ll see you all in a bit,” Reina told Matteo before hanging up.

By the time Noel’s Range Rover Evoque pulled up at her driveway, Reina was in a better mood. She climbed in to the back seats where Matteo and Emilia were sitting.

“Hey Reina,” Noel greeted from the driver’s seat. “Good morning to you.”

Kate laughed from the passenger seat. “Don’t try to be cheeky. She might just bite your head off.”

“Great seeing all of you too,” Reina said with a roll of her eyes.

“We’ve missed you. Especially me,” Matteo murmured next to her, wrapping his fingers around hers.

Reina glanced at Matteo. “Is that so? In the midst of having so much fun at La Concha? I’m shocked.”

“It was Matteo’s idea to come back early. To cheer you up,” Emilia told her gently.

“The wine gala was a horrible event. You guys have no idea,” Reina lamented.

Well, _most_ of the gala was horrible – the part where she stood in a circle drinking with the Las Encinas people was actually maybe sort of bearable. Maybe.

“What happened exactly?” Noel asked.

Reina sighed. “That’s a story for another day. Right now I just want to let loose and forget everything.”

“As you wish,” Matteo told her with a smile. “Also, Kate may have mentioned that I have a surprise for you...”

“She did...”

“It’s waiting for you at the house. So you’ll have to be patient for just a bit more.”

“You’re gonna love it, Reina,” Kate declared with an envious sigh. “In rare times like this, I wish I was dating Matteo...”

“You probably dream of it every day and write my name on every page of your diary,” Matteo teased.

“Gross. I take it back. I will never wish I was dating you,” Kate replied, making a gagging sound.

After a couple more minutes of chatter among the five of them, Reina spotted the turning into the private road that led to Matteo’s family home – Which was actually a huge mansion with a separate guest house, a tennis court and an Olympic-size pool.

Pretty impressive, but Reina still won. Her family home had _two_ separate guest houses, a tennis court, an Olympic-size pool _and_ a basketball court. Not that any of this was ever utilized in the slightest. Her father just loved extravagance, that was all. It was sickening.

“Okay, here we are,” Matteo announced as the group stepped into the living room. He went to retrieve a flat orange-hued rectangle gift box that sat on the coffee table.

Reina drew in her breath quickly. She recognized that iconic orange box, of course – it was from Hermès.

“Open it,” Kate squealed in excitement.

Reina took the gift box and carefully lifted the lid, which revealed a chic black and white silk scarf with intricate prints.

“This is limited edition,” Reina spoke. “How did you..?”

“Hermès wants to work with my mother for their new campaign. So she asked for this small favor from them,” Matteo explained, grinning.

“It’s gorgeous, I love it.” Reina stood on her tiptoes to give Matteo a kiss on the lips. “Thank you, baby.”

“All right. Reina has been appeased, so everyone can breathe easy now,” Noel joked.

Reina stuck out her tongue at Noel.

“Time for tennis!” Matteo said. “Eric texted me to say he’ll be here in ten minutes. Let’s go warm up first.”

Noel and Emilia nodded, following Matteo out to the tennis court.

Meanwhile, Reina and Kate made their way to the poolside. They were both dressed in bikini tops and denim shorts. And Kate was right – the weather was perfect for poolside relaxation. The late afternoon sun was merely peeking through the clouds and a cooling breeze tickled their faces.

Kate got one of the house helpers to prepare mimosas for them, and before long, the two girls were sitting on the pool ledge with their legs dipped in the water, sipping on mimosas in crystal flutes.

“I really needed this,” Reina stated appreciatively.

“It’s not a bad way to end a Sunday,” Kate responded as she finished her mimosa and reached for a second one.

“So how was La Concha? Amazing, I suppose?” Reina asked.

Kate nodded her head. “The hotel was right in front of the beach, and we had our own infinity pool and sundeck. Also, the seafood was divine. Especially the calamari ala plancha, oh my God. So good!”

“Okay, okay. Please stop before I start wallowing in self-pity again,” Reina said. She looked thoughtful for a second. “Emi seems a little quiet today. Did something happen at the trip or something?”

Kate blinked then cleared her throat. “Perhaps she was just feeling tired. We didn’t get much sleep at La Concha, as you can imagine. We drank till the morning.”

“Right...” Reina stared at Kate. “Or is it something that you don’t want to tell me?”

Kate didn’t answer immediately. “I don’t know, Reina. I’m not sure how you’d react. And honestly, I thought you would’ve figured it out on your own...”

Reina frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Do you really want me to be truthful with you?”

Reina put down her mimosa and gave Kate her full concentration. “Yes.”

When she saw that Kate was still hesitant, she blurted out, “Do I have a problem? Am I self-absorbed? And do I care too much about winning and nothing else?”

Kate’s eyebrows shot up. “Whoa, where did all this come from?”

“It doesn’t matter. I just want to know. Is that what all of you think about me?”

“Well Reina, we’ve always been very careful around you. Careful about what we say and do. Because you’re...” Kate paused.

“I’m what?” Reina prodded.

“You’re just... not easy to be with.”

“So I’m difficult,” Reina said flatly.

Kate shrugged. “Well, your temperament is hardly the best. But there’s something else. See, I’ve been in this group for so many years, from when Noel and I were dating, to when we broke up, and then to now, when we’ve become best friends. Through it all, I – I can’t say for sure that you and I are friends. At least not in a way that goes beyond the superficial surface.”

“Why is that?”

“Like you said, you don’t care much about anything, apart from winning. I don’t know if I can trust you or rely on you as a, well, a _semi-decent human being_...”

Ouch.

Trying not to sound emotional in any way, Reina replied, “I see.”

“Don’t get me wrong, we do have fun together. Lots of fun. You’re always the life of the party. And Matteo adores you, so as Matteo’s friends, we totally support him.”

“Do you really?” Reina wondered. “I honestly want to know.”

Kate’s face grew serious. “If you must know... The way things are between you and Matteo right now, I think you two may not be good for each other. You bring out the competitiveness in him. He indulges you far too much and lets you get away with murder. It’s just not healthy, you know? I just feel that you and Matteo have a lot to work on when it comes to improving the relationship.”

Double ouch.

“I appreciate your honesty.” Reina lowered her gaze for a second, then looked up again at Kate. “But I’m not sure how all of this relates to my question about Emi...?”

Kate laughed without humor. “My honesty has its limits.”

“Come on, Kate. Don’t leave me to die from curiosity here.”

“Fine. But promise you won’t freak out, okay?”

“So dramatic. But whatever. Okay. I promise.”

Kate pursed her lips. “Our dearest Emi, she’s been in love with Matteo for the longest time. You know they go way back, like since their preschool days?”

Reina involuntarily gasped. Why hadn’t she noticed anything before? Her level of self-absorption must be even higher than she’d thought.

“But you don’t have to worry,” Kate added hastily. “Emi would never try anything. She fully respects your relationship with Matteo. And besides, Matteo is another dense one. He’d never see Emi as anything beyond a childhood friend.”

“Wow.” Reina dropped her face into her hands, still reeling from everything that Kate had told her.

“Our group is rather interesting, isn’t it?” Kate remarked.

Reina sighed. “That would be an understatement.”

* * *

The next day after school, Reina found herself standing at the front door of the Muñoz residence.

_Here I go with my attempt at being a semi-decent human being._

She took a deep breath before pressing the doorbell.

The door was briskly opened and Azucena Muñoz appeared. “Reina, hello. What a nice surprise.”

“Hi Azucena,” Reina said, her smile tinged with nervousness. “Is Ander at home please?”


	16. Relent

“Ander, your friend is here to see you!”

At the sound of his mother’s voice and the soft knocks on his bedroom door, Ander paused his Instagram browsing and rolled off from his bed.

When he flung open the door, he saw his mother’s grinning face and he grew curious. “Friend? Who?”

“Come on down and find out yourself,” she replied cheerfully.

Ander followed her down the stairs and they parted ways at the bottom, where his mother strode into the kitchen and he made his way to the front door.

He didn’t know what he was expecting to see at the doorway, but it was certainly not someone with that familiar pair of large, expressive eyes.

“Reina?” he muttered with a frown. “Why are you here?”

Those dark eyes were two calm pools today, and when Reina spoke, her voice was uncharacteristically timid. “Hi, Ander.”

Ander leaned against the doorway, waiting for her to continue.

“Umm, this is for you. And your family,” Reina said as she lifted her hands to show the large white pastry box she was holding. “Cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery.”

Ander eyed the pastry box suspiciously. “This is kind of random...”

Reina nodded earnestly. “I know. I just – I wanted to apologize. And this is my peace offering.”

“Cupcakes are your peace offering,” Ander stated, still dubious.

Reina bit her lower lip. “Are cupcakes not good enough? I’m not.. I’m not very good at this apologizing thing. All I know is that an apology usually comes with a gift of some sort, right?”

Ander couldn’t help chuckling. “Guess that’s how the rich and elite people do it,” he remarked dryly.

Reina exhaled loudly. “Ander, please. Just accept the cupcakes. Please?” she softened her tone at the end, probably because she remembered that she was the guilty party here.

“I don’t know. I’m kind of on a diet,” Ander teased.

“Ander, aren’t you going to invite Reina in already?” His mother appeared next to him. “I’m sorry, Reina. My son is usually not this rude to guests.”

Reina smiled awkwardly, still clutching at the box of cupcakes.

“Here, I’ll take the cupcakes. Come on in,” Ander said as he seized the box and stepped aside for Reina to walk in.

“Thanks,” Reina responded with unmistakable relief.

“Can I get you something to drink, Reina?” His mother offered.

“Water is great. Thank you,” Reina answered as she daintily sat down on the three-seater sofa in the living room.

Ander claimed the single armchair adjacent to the sofa. “You don’t have to stay, you know,” he told Reina. “My mom is just an over-enthusiastic host.”

“I’ll be gone in five minutes,” Reina assured him. “As long as you accept my apology.”

“Well, I don’t recall witnessing your actual apology...” Ander pointed out, trying not to smile. He was secretly enjoying the sight of Reina squirming.

“Seriously?” Reina ran a hand through her wavy curls. “Okay, fine. I –“

“Here you go, Reina,” Ander’s mother reappeared with tray that held Reina’s glass of water and a pot of tea. “I made tea for all of us too. Now, shall we try some of the cupcakes that Reina brought? They look delicious.”

Ander didn’t particularly want to sit and have a tea party with his mother and the girl whom he wasn’t sure he was forgiving just yet.

“Actually, I think I need to get going,” Reina announced, taking a sip of her water before setting the glass back down and standing up. “I’m so sorry that I can’t stay longer, but I hope you enjoy the cupcakes.”

Evidently, Reina felt the same way he did.

“Oh, are you sure?” His mother blinked at Reina.

“Yes,” Reina replied without hesitation. “Thank you for inviting me in, Azucena.”

“You’re most welcome, Reina. Come over again soon.”

Ander got up to see Reina out.

“You weren’t kidding when you said ‘over-enthusiastic host’,” Reina murmured when they’d both stepped out to the porch.

Closing the door behind him, Ander said, “Yeah, if you hadn’t mentioned leaving, you’d probably end up being asked to join for dinner too.”

Reina chuckled. “Your mother is really nice. It must be great to have loving parents that you get along with.”

Ander shrugged. “I’m close to my mom, but not so much with my dad.”

“Why is that?”

“He has a fixed idea on how his son’s life should be, but I don’t agree with it,” Ander muttered.

“Why does that sound so familiar?” Reina laughed but there was no humor behind it.

“I don’t know what the deal is with your family, but the way I see it, nobody’s forcing us to suffer. Not if we don’t want to. We might not be able to fix all the family problems we have, but we can still control how we react. And how much we care.”

“My reaction is always to lose control, it seems,” Reina observed wryly.

“You’ve perfected it to an art form,” Ander agreed.

“Thanks.” Reina rolled her eyes.

“But you do seem a bit.. different today.”

“You could tell?”

“What happened?”

“It was brought to my attention that I’m terrible at being a human being.”

Ander couldn’t help laughing.

“Oh, you like that, don’t you?” Reina huffed.

“I tried telling you but you wouldn’t listen. So I’m glad someone else got through to you.”

“Kate.” Reina blew out her breath. “She just made me aware of things that I didn’t notice before.”

“She’s a true friend then,” Ander observed.

“I suppose so.” Reina crossed her arms. “Well, I’d better get going.”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll see you when I see you...” Reina looked deep in thought for a moment. “That would be the football game at San Patricio, right? Where you’re making your cheerleading debut?”

Ander scowled. “Don’t remind me. I have you to thank for that really creative punishment.”

“I’m a bit too clever for my own good sometimes,” Reina said with a nod. Studying Ander’s face, she cleared her throat. “Actually... I don’t know if you know, but I’m the head cheerleader at San Patricio. So if you want, I can give you a quick cheerleading lesson...”

“Is this some other sneaky way of sabotaging me?” Ander asked, sighing.

“I swear, it isn’t.”

“Then why are you offering your help all of a sudden? We’re on different sides of this drawn-out stupid rivalry game, remember?”

“I remember. But hey, maybe this whole thing is stupid like you said. Perhaps it’s a good time to move on from the rivalry. And I – I hope one day we can be friends. For real. This seems like a good starting point,” Reina said. “Let me see if I can try making the whole thing a little less embarrassing for you. Please?”

Ander gazed at Reina for a moment then finally shrugged. “Let’s go to the backyard.”

Reina trotted behind him as he led the way to the soft grassy area behind the house. Before they began, she tied her long hair into a ponytail and kicked off her white sneakers.

“Will your buddies be joining you for this cheer, or are you going solo?” she wanted to know.

“Uhh, I’m not sure I want to drag anyone else into this...”

“The cheer routine I’m envisioning will work really well if there are three of you. But we can go over your part first for today.”

Ander found it amusing that Reina was taking this on with such enthusiasm. She must be a good captain for her team.

“Whatever you say, captain,” he uttered.

“Do you have the song mix they sent you? Play it from your phone and watch my moves, okay? They’re simple but look really good when executed well.”

For the next hour or so, Ander dove into the unfamiliar and bewildering world of cheerleading moves.

When his arms and legs became completely jelly-like, he signaled at Reina for a time-out and collapsed onto the grass. “I think I’ve had enough for today,” he said in between inhaling deep breaths.

“Sure?”

The song was still playing and Reina performed several jumps to the infectious beats.

“How do you make it look so damn easy?” Ander said.

“Anyone can do it, really,” Reina quipped as she finished with a flourish. She took a seat next to Ander, cross-legged and panting slightly. “As long as they’re willing to put in the hard work and discipline.”

“You have a natural talent for it,” Ander observed.

Reina grinned. “You’re not half bad either, for a total beginner. You just need to remember to keep your movements crisp and put lots of energy into every motion.”

“If you say so, captain.” Ander frowned as he thought of something. “So.. Will I have to wear a skirt?”

Reina burst into laughter. “Do you want to?”

“What do you think?”

“All right, all right. I actually have a great idea about your outfit as well...” Reina winked.

“Wow. So this is what it feels like to have you on the same side. Looks like you’ve got it all figured out for me,” Ander told her, unable to resist a smile on his lips.

Reina looked down into her clasped hands thoughtfully before lifting her eyes back to meet Ander’s.

“Ander,” she said solemnly, “I really am sorry. For the way I acted previously. For hurting you.”

“Apology accepted.”

“Good.”

“I wasn’t planning to forgive you, but the cupcakes were really the game-changer.”

“Stop making fun of the cupcakes.”

Ander chuckled. “Listen, I need to head out soon. But thanks for the coaching. It was great.”

“No problem.” Reina studied Ander with a raised eyebrow. “Got a hot date?”

“Maybe.”

Ander’s mind wandered back to the wine gala night. The clandestine meetup after his argument with Reina. Freezing air. Warm breaths. Hungry kisses. Throbbing desire in the pants. Omar’s smile.

Reina smirked as she got up and dusted off bits of grass from the back of her shorts. “Okay, have fun.”

Ander nodded, feeling a lot lighter than he had before. “I will.”


	17. Unfamiliar Territory

“This is unbelievable,” Noel exclaimed.

“It definitely sucks,” Kate agreed with a scowl.

“How can we lose our school principal and get a replacement, all in one weekend?” Matteo shook his head.

Emilia looked around them as students filed out of San Patricio’s indoor basketball court after an emergency assembly session right before lunch.

She told the gang, “I heard Pedro Aldana got sacked – I mean, asked to leave – on Friday night and they flew in the new principal from Barcelona on Sunday.”

“Sascha Pastor. That’s the name of the new principal, right? I don’t like the looks of her,” Matteo grumbled.

“And her speech about how she will reshape the school for better discipline and performance? We don’t need more discipline.” Noel’s face grew dark.

By the time the gang had settled into their usual lunch table, the complaints had only intensified.

“Pedro was good. Why would they get rid of a perfectly good principal?” Matteo frowned.

Emilia nodded. “He trusted us and gave us freedom.”

“A little too much freedom,” Kate pointed out with a smirk. “But who’s complaining, right?”

“Not me.” Noel grinned. “All those times I was allowed to miss my classes to practice running on the track. That was great.”

Kate leaned forward. “Reina?” she called from across the table. “You’ve been oddly quiet. What’s up?”

Reina put down the fork that she was using to stab at her bowl of salad. “I guess I just don’t see what the big deal is.”

She shrugged her slender shoulders and continued, “ _We_ rule this school. And don’t forget that our parents pay for everything, including the principal’s salary. There’s nothing to be worried about.”

“I suppose that’s true...” Emilia said thoughtfully.

“Of course it is,” Reina replied haughtily. “If Sascha Pastor even dares to try to change a single thing at San Patricio... We’ll just need to tell our parents and she’ll be fired in no time.”

“Reina is always our voice of reason,” Matteo mused, throwing her an affectionate smile.

“You’re welcome.” Reina took one more mouthful of her salad before pushing the entire bowl away. “So let’s move on to another topic now. Something more exciting, please.”

“Umm, this isn’t exciting but I’m this close to failing my English literature class.” Emilia sighed. “Does anyone want to study together for the test this Friday?”

Normally, Reina would’ve rolled her eyes, told Emilia that the class was a total breeze, and wondered aloud why anyone could be flunking the subject.

And Reina was about to do so at this very instance... Until she caught Kate’s eye. And remembered how she was supposed to try being a decent human being.

_Well, here we go._

Taking a deep breath, Reina said, “Emi, why don’t we meet at your house after school? We can have a study session then.”

Emilia’s face lit up. “That sounds great. But I can’t do today. I have drama practice. Kate does too. How about tomorrow?”

“That works.”

Kate gave Reina a secret smile, then turned to Emilia and said, “Count me in tomorrow. I have an appointment at the hair salon first but I’ll pop over right after that.”

“You girls have fun,” Noel told them with a yawn.

“Would it kill you to actually study properly for a test for once?” Kate teased him.

“Yes,” Noel answered without missing a beat.

“I’ll be busy tomorrow with football practice,” Matteo informed the gang. “For the big game against Academia El Pilar.”

“I can’t wait,” Noel announced with a devilish grin. “The Las Encinas loser cheering for our team – that’s going to be priceless.”

Matteo laughed. “You said it, my friend.”

Reina rolled her eyes. “Just make sure we win, captain. Or else Ander isn’t going to be the only embarrassed cheerleader on the pitch that afternoon.”

“It’s going to be a tough match,” Matteo acknowledged. “But we’ll be ready. We’ve been studying El Pilar’s last few games and we’re trying out this new formation that’s going to strike them at their weakest points.”

“Good.” Reina saw that her phone had notifications and unlocked the screen in one quick swipe. There were new messages from Ander.

“Babe, so I’ll see you tonight?” Matteo asked.

Reina looked up at Matteo and nodded quickly. “I’ll be there at 8,” she confirmed before refocusing on her phone to read Ander’s messages.

**Ander: Hey are you free this afternoon?**

**Ander: I’ll be at the Retamares Country Club with Guzmán and Polo**

**Ander: Thought you could play cheerleading coach again**

**Ander: G and P have graciously agreed to take on the punishment with me at the game next week**

Reina thought about it for a second then began to type.

**Reina: Such loyal friends**

**Reina: Okay Ander Muñoz, I’ll see you at Retamares**

“What’s the plan for you two lovebirds tonight?” Kate wanted to know.

“Movie night at my house,” Matteo said. “Reina has agreed to watch an action movie with me in peace – for once.”

Noel gasped. “Is this the Reina Velásquez that we know and occasionally love? The one who threatened to smash the TV screen when we were having that John Wick movie marathon?”

“Hush. Just finish your burger,” Reina instructed Noel, sticking her tongue out.

Who would’ve thought that trying to be a better person would be this challenging?

* * *

“Hey, stranger,” Reina called out as she spotted Ander with his friends at the fringe of the tennis courts at the country club.

“You made it,” Ander said with a grin. “You’ve met everyone here?” he asked.

Reina glanced at the group and could only vaguely recognize some of the faces. “I don’t mind being reintroduced...”

“Sure. This is Guzmán, Polo, Lu, Carla and Marina. Everyone, say hi to Reina.”

“Hi again,” Marina greeted warmly.

Reina couldn’t help noticing that the rest were less friendly than Marina. The brunette girl in particular – was it Lu? – was eyeing her critically. With a touch of disdain.

But whatever. Reina never let other people’s judgment phase her. And as far as she was concerned, she was just here to help Ander out.

“So, are we ready to practice?” she asked.

Ander was about to respond when a sugary-sweet female voice called out from the courts.

“Ander? Can you come over for a minute, please?”

Ander rubbed the back of his neck. “Hold on. I’ll be back.”

Reina’s eyes followed Ander as he walked over to a curvy girl with long light brown hair in an extremely short tennis skirt. She leaned in close to Ander as she spoke. It looked like she was asking him for some advice on her swing.

_But still. She doesn’t need to stand so close to Ander._

Reina resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It was so obvious what that girl was doing.

“It’s so obvious what she’s doing,” Marina quipped, standing beside Reina.

“Oh.” Reina quickly shifted her gaze away from the courts.

Marina laughed, her ginger curls bouncing. “It’s okay. We don’t really like her either. Her name is Bianca Salvador and she’s been trying to get into Ander’s pants for months now.”

_Ha! Looks like I beat her to it._ Reina couldn’t help feeling a sense of triumph, as childish as it was.

“Of course, Ander is absolutely clueless,” Marina continued. “He thinks she’s just really bad at tennis and needs his constant coaching.”

“Come on. Nobody is _that_ bad at tennis,” Reina scoffed as she saw Bianca ‘accidentally’ dropping her racket. Ander, being the gentleman that he was, bent down to pick it up. As he passed it back to Bianca, her hand lingered on his for way too long.

“You know it and I know it...” Marina grinned.

Reina frowned, wondering if Ander’s hot date the other day involved Bianca. Not that it was any of her business or concern. It was his life. But seriously, Ander could do much, much better.

A short moment later, Ander left Bianca and walked back to the group.

“Sorry about that,” Ander said, shooting Reina an apologetic smile before turning to address the entire group. “Guzmán, Polo. Let’s head to the dance studio now and start practicing. The rest of you who wants to come along and watch, just follow us.”

“Bianca finally released her claws on you for a minute, huh?” Marina teased.

Guzmán, who was standing nearby with Polo, overheard Marina and let out a guffaw. “Ander can’t help it if he’s just such an eligible bachelor.”

Ander shook his head, slightly embarrassed. “She just needed some tips with her tennis game, that’s all.”

Lu sidled up next to Ander, patting his arm protectively. “Can we please stop talking about that witch? She’s annoying.”

Reina gazed at Lu and Ander, looking extremely comfortable with each other as they led the way to the dance studio.

As Reina thought about how Ander was surrounded by quite a number of girls, she was gripped by a strange sensation. An emotion stemming from unfamiliar territory.

Could it be... that Reina was actually jealous?

_No way. That’s utterly ridiculous._

_... Isn’t it?_


	18. The Briefest Moment

“That was amazing, guys!” Marina raised her arms and applauded, her face beaming at Ander, Guzmán and Polo as the booming music from the club’s dance studio speakers came to an end.

“The cheer routine looked great. You guys were on fire,” Carla agreed.

“Yeah, it was actually not half bad,” Lu allowed with a sniff.

Polo wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “I have a good feeling about this, which is something I never thought I’d be saying about this stupid punishment,” he pronounced, laughing.

Ander grinned and slung his arm around Reina’s shoulder. “Thanks to our awesome cheer coach.”

Guzmán and Polo smiled at Reina while Reina complained, “Ander! You’re all sweaty.” However, she didn’t make a move to step away.

“Let’s call it a day and head to the terrace bar? I’m dying from thirst,” Guzmán stated.

Polo nodded. “I want to drown in a pool of S. Pellegrino sparkling water. Right now.”

“It’s 5pm, which means it’s wine o’ clock,” Carla announced. “Let’s go.”

She linked arms with Lu and the two girls exited the dance studio with the rest of the group in tow.

“You’ve been a huge help, Reina,” Ander uttered, his arm still resting lightly on Reina’s shoulder as they walked to the terrace bar.

“You’re welcome.” Reina glanced up at Ander and smirked. “I just couldn’t leave you to suffer from total embarrassment in front of the entire San Patricio crowd – and not to mention El Pilar’s crowd too.”

Ander grimaced at the thought of making a fool of himself in public. “I owe you one, that’s for sure.”

“You might just regret saying that,” Reina teased, her dark eyes dancing with mischief.

“Reina...” Ander groaned. “No more concocting brilliant ideas for now, okay? You’re too good at it.”

“And you’re no fun.” Reina laughed.

The sky above flashed with lightning at that moment.

“Damn, it looks like rain soon,” Guzmán said, looking upward.

“Come on, let’s hurry.” Ander’s hand dropped to the small of Reina’s back, guiding her to move faster.

“I kinda like being in the rain,” Reina admitted, even though she kept up with the rest who were quickening their steps.

“You like the notion of being wet and cold, with a risk of falling sick?” Ander chuckled.

“Now you’ve just ruined the mood.”

Ander chuckled again. “My bad... But since you like the rain, I’m going to start calling you Rein. It’s a cute nickname, don’t you think?”

Reina actually stopped in her tracks. “No. No nicknames. I hate them.”

“Don’t stop walking, Rein,” Ander said.

“Ander – I mean it. You’re not allowed to call me anything but –“

“Watch your step, Rein.”

Reina let out an exasperated sigh. “I hate you, Ander Muñoz.”

“Stop being so cute, you two,” Marina quipped from behind them.

Ander shook his head. “Don’t get the wrong idea, Marina. Reina has a wonderful boyfriend at San Patricio already. A real nice guy.”

Reina rolled her eyes. “Let’s not forget that Ander is also apparently seeing someone.”

“Are you, Ander?” Marina asked. “That’s news to me.”

Ander shrugged. “It’s still pretty new...”

At that point, they had all arrived at the terrace bar. Marina went to join Carla and Lu who were placing orders with the bartender.

“So none of your friends know yet about the fact that you’re dating?” Reina raised an eyebrow. “Why the secrecy, Ander?”

“There’s no rush,” Ander replied. “Plus, it’s fun seeing you going crazy with curiosity.”

Reina lifted her chin indignantly. “What? I’m not curious at all. Date whomever you want, Ander. I don’t care.”

“Here you go,” Guzmán said as he shoved two cans of soft drinks at Ander. “One for you and one for Reina.”

“I want the Coke,” Reina quickly spoke up.

“But I don’t want the strawberry Mirinda. You take it, Rein,” Ander told her with a smirk.

Guzmán glanced from Ander to Reina, his palms shown to them. “You two work it out, okay? I’m not getting involved,” he announced and left them alone.

Reina reached to grab the Coke can from Ander’s hand, but he didn’t relinquish his grip.

“Seriously? We’re gonna fight over a can of Coke?” Reina retorted.

Ander laughed. “We don’t have to – if you’d just let go.”

“Never!” Reina’s fingers tightened around the can in their impromptu tug-of-war game.

“Get ready to lose, Rein. You’ll be drowning your sorrows in disgusting strawberry soda.”

“Excuse me but losing is _not_ a word in my dictionary,” Reina replied, her eyes sparkling at the challenge.

For the briefest moment, Ander felt his surroundings melt away, as if he and Reina had been transported to another world of their own.

There was nothing else to focus on but Reina. Her smile that lit up her entire face as she gazed at him unwaveringly...

“Ander,” Reina murmured in a low voice.

“Yes?”

“I think your phone is ringing.”

Ander blinked and snapped back to reality. “Oh, right.”

He retrieved the phone from his pants pocket and saw Omar’s name on the screen.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, deciding to find a quiet corner to take the call.

Releasing the Coke can, Ander gave Reina a quick smile before walking away.

“Hey,” he breathed as he answered the call.

“Hey back,” Omar’s warm voice floated over the line. “Is this a bad time?”

“Well, I’m at the country club with the usual suspects, but it’s all right. I can talk. What’s up?”

“Nothing much. Was just missing you.”

“I miss you too.”

“Do you want to meet up tonight?”

“I wish I could, but I have a ton of homework to tackle. And a test I need to study for.”

“How boring,” Omar teased.

“That’s who you chose to date.”

Omar sighed dramatically. “At least you’re a good kisser.”

Ander couldn’t help grinning. “Glad you remember. Hey listen, I have that dumb cheer thing I have to do as punishment at San Patricio this Friday night. But after that, do you want to hang out?”

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

“Okay. I guess I’d better get back to the gang now. I’ll see you on Friday?”

“Friday,” Omar affirmed. “Bye, Ander.”

“Bye, Omar.”

Pocketing his phone, Ander made his way to rejoin the group who were gathered around the bar counter.

“Ander, there you are!” Lu called out, one hand holding a wine glass filled to the brim while another hand waved at him.

“Are you done talking to your mysterious new girlfriend?” Marina said with a wink.

“Looks like it was a good call,” Reina observed, and Marina who stood next to her began to laugh.

“Yeah, you’re all smiles, Ander,” Polo added. “Who’s this incredible girl you’re hiding from us?”

Ander squinted his eyes. “Come on, guys. No interrogation, please.”

“You can’t keep us in suspense.” Carla pouted.

“Look, I’m famished. Let’s grab some dinner and then I need to get home, okay?” Ander nodded at Reina. “Reina, you’re welcome to join us, of course.”

“Yeah, let us buy you dinner to say thanks,” Guzmán chimed in.

Reina looked both astonished and happy with the invitation. “That sounds great, really... But I have plans already.”

“Is it a date with the wonderful boyfriend that Ander mentioned?” Marina asked Reina, throwing a quick grin at Ander as she spoke.

Ander let out a chuckle.

Reina scowled at Ander before answering Marina, “Yeah, it’s date night tonight.”

“Have fun. I can’t wait to cheer for his team this Friday,” Ander said.

“I’m sure.” Reina smiled wryly. She took one last gulp of her Coke and grabbed her purse from the bar counter. “See you boys on Friday.”

“We’ll make it a night to remember,” Polo declared.


	19. Explode

The atmosphere tonight was electric. From where she was standing near the sidelines, Reina could feel the excited buzz from the San Patricio supporters on the bleachers. Even her toes tucked in her cheerleading shoes were tingling.

The crowd turnout for the football game was amazing. A full house.

And best of all, it was almost half time and Matteo had steered his team to a 3-0 lead. Academia El Pilar was struggling badly, making lots of unnecessary mistakes.

“Wow, look at Matteo go!” Angelina breathed, doing a little hop of joy.

“I don’t know anyone else who can make football maneuvers look so sexy,” Itzel agreed.

Reina threw Angelina and Itzel a sidelong glance. These two girls were certainly the biggest airheads on her cheerleading team.

_It’s not like their cheer captain – who happens to be Matteo’s girlfriend – is standing right next to them and can hear how they’re swooning shamelessly over him,_ Reina thought, rolling her eyes.

The phone clasped in her hand buzzed, and Reina saw there were text messages from Ander.

**Ander: I can’t go out there**

**Ander: I’ll look like a fuckin idiot in front of two entire schools**

Reina chortled to herself as she typed her reply and got into a quick conversation with Ander.

**Reina: Don’t worry. The 3 of you gonna be fierce and fabulous**

**Reina: Remember who you had as a cheer coach? ;)**

**Ander: I can’t remember anything... Especially the cheer moves**

**Ander: Why did I think we could do this???**

**Reina: Ander Muñoz the drama queen, as always**

**Ander: Can I go home?**

**Reina: I dare you to try**

**Reina: Don’t forget, I know where you live ;)**

**Ander: Damn**

**Reina: It’s almost time**

**Reina: Go kick ass!**

**Ander: Ughhhhh**

Another laugh escaped Reina’s bright red lips. As she pocketed her phone, she heard the referee’s whistle that signaled the game’s half time.

Reina watched the San Patricio and Academia El Pilar teams leave the field for their 15-minute break. A moment later, three new boys in light grey shirts and black sports shorts entered the pitch, taking the central spot.

It was showtime.

“And now for our half-time entertainment,” a voice blared from the speakers, “We have a very special cheer performance by three students from Las Encinas. Put your hands together for Ander, Guzmán and Polo!”

The thundering start of Demi Lovato’s _Heart Attack_ filled the air.

“What’s going on? And who are those Las Encinas losers?” Itzel spoke.

“Will you please just shut up and watch,” Reina told Itzel with a scowl, making the other girl to immediately close her mouth dutifully.

Ander stepped forward and the crowd quietened down in anticipation.

Ander looked from Guzmán to Polo, who stood to his right and left respectively.

Then Ander gave a terse nod, and simultaneously the three boys pulled up their shirts in one swift movement, revealing their toned torsos.

Itzel and Angelina gasped audibly at the now shirtless boys, and so did many others in the bleachers.

_Go boys!_ Reina silently cheered.

The next minute-and-a-half was pure magic, as the cheer stunt played out exactly as the boys had practiced. Tight, snappy, confident, high energy. They were slaying it, and it didn’t hurt that these three boys were easy on the eyes.

“The tall blond one is sooo hot,” Angelina cooed to Itzel, giggling as she clutched Itzel’s arm.

“Take him. The dark haired one has my heart,” Itzel declared, her free arm raised high as she was recording the performance on her phone.

Reina had to refrain from saying something nasty again. Instead, she focused on Ander as he got into the last part of the routine – his hips moving to the catchy beat of the music, his arms doing the right punch up followed by the left punch up.

He stepped back to be in line with Guzmán and Polo once more.

The three of them made a classic hip hop’s pop and lock move, a 360-degree twirl and then ended their performance with their arms crossed across their chests.

The crowd stood up and roared in approval, Reina included.

When the excitement died down, Reina took her phone out. She sent Ander a message and received a response instantly.

**Reina: Not too bad, Ander Muñoz**

**Ander: You didn’t mention the adrenaline rush that comes from this**

**Ander: !!!**

**Ander: I think the crowd liked us?**

**Reina: Totally**

**Reina: The 3 of you are superstars now :):):)**

**Ander: Couldn’t have done it without you, Coach Velásquez**

**Reina: I won’t disagree :P**

**Ander: Hey hang back a bit after the game, okay?**

**Reina: Why?**

**Ander: Surprise**

**Reina: This better be good**

**Ander: See you later, Reina**

“I never thought cheerleading boys could be sexy,” Marcia, a tall redhead cheerleader on the team, quipped with a smirk. “I know better now.”

Angelina and Itzel nodded their heads enthusiastically at Marcia.

Reina popped a piece of gum and smiled to herself, never more proud than this moment to have known these three boys from Las Encinas.

* * *

When the whistle blew to mark the end of the game, Reina blinked and wondered if she’d been dreaming.

Around her, the other girls on the cheerleading team stood still in shock.

Itzel was the first one to break the silence by blurting out, “3-4?! What kind of bullshit score is that?”

Reina was thinking the same thing.

In the unlikeliest of events, Academia El Pilar had turned the game around in the second half, catching up with San Patricio to even the score at 3-3. Then within minutes before the game was over, one of San Patricio’s defenders made an immense foul that earned a penalty kick for El Pilar.

And just like that, the game concluded at 4-3. El Pilar had won.

Rubbing her temples with her fingers, Reina could only imagine how devastated Matteo must be feeling. She watched as the San Patricio football team trudged dejectedly off the pitch, feeling her heart sink.

She had to go and find Matteo. To console him.

Reina made her way toward the school block where the boys’ locker room was and waited for Matteo to emerge. She leaned against the wall outside, crossing her arms and sighing.

She hated losing more than anything, but it was ten times worse for Matteo because he was team captain.

“Reina!”

Swiveling her head, she saw Ander walking over to her – and observed with slight regret that he’d put his shirt back on.

“Ander, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“I spotted you out there on the sidelines and called you, but you didn’t hear. So I had to pull a stalker move and follow you here. Sorry,” Ander explained, looking sheepish.

“It’s fine.” Then Reina looked around them. “But I think you shouldn’t stick around. The boys on the team will be done with their showers soon, and they probably won’t be in the mood to be friendly to outsiders.”

“Right.” Ander jammed his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “Well, I just wanted to give you this.”

He retracted his right hand from the pocket to reveal a familiar piece of jewelry with a black onyx clover leaf design.

“My ring!” Reina exclaimed.

“I kept forgetting to return it to you before this. My bad.”

“Well, thanks for remembering tonight.” Reina smiled at Ander as she reached to take the ring from his palm.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” A loud voice startled them.

Reina glimpsed Noel barreling down the corridor, his face dark.

“Noel, chill, okay?” she instructed, quickly slipping the ring into her skirt pocket.

Noel ignored her, turning to glare at Ander. “You. Las Encinas scum. What were you doing?”

Ander lifted both hands in mock surrender. “Nothing, man. I was just leaving.”

Noel stepped closer to Ander. “Don’t bullshit me. I saw you holding Reina’s hand. That didn’t look like nothing.”

“Can you just keep it down, Noel?” Reina hissed furiously, worried that Matteo was going to hear the commotion and appear.

Shifting her focus to Ander, she added, “Ander, just go, please.”

“Nobody’s going anywhere until I get a straight up explanation of what happened,” Noel insisted.

Reina rolled her eyes impatiently. “Ander was just returning my ring to me. Okay? You happy now?”

“Your ring?” Noel threw Reina a suspicious look. “Why did he have your ring on him anyway?”

Reina shrugged, tired of the interrogation.

Noel ran a hand agitatedly through his hair. “Fuck, Reina. Don’t tell me something happened between the both of you –“

“Hey.. What’s with the shouting?”

_Oh this is fucking great_.

Reina turned to see Matteo emerging from the locker room, shirtless and with freshly shampooed hair.

“Matteo. Did you know that Reina has been meeting up with this Las Encinas loser?”

When Matteo noticed Ander’s presence, pure rage flashed in his eyes. “What the hell are you talking about, Noel?”

“He was giving Reina back her ring.” Noel thrusted an accusing finger at Ander. “And he wouldn’t say how got the ring in the first place.”

Matteo charged up to Ander, banging his chest against Ander’s. “I’m giving you three seconds to explain yourself, before –“

“Get away from me,” Ander said with a frown.

He made a move to leave but Matteo grabbed his collar and pulled him back so that they were face to face again.

“Are you fucking my girlfriend?! Are you?!” Matteo demanded with a growl.

“Matteo,” Reina uttered, her voice cold as steel. He was being ridiculous, causing a spectacle like this. A couple of other boys from the football team had come out to see what was happening.

“You’re crazy,” Ander spoke evenly, refusing to get angry.

This only made Matteo more furious. “You fucking piece of lowlife shit,” he spat. “You dare to touch my girl? And then you show up tonight with your stupid cheer stunt that made us to lose the game! I should kill you!”

“That’s enough, Matteo,” Reina said sternly, placing a hand on his arm but he swatted it away crossly.

Matteo continued giving Ander the death stare.

“Let go of my shirt,” Ander warned Matteo.

“Make me,” Matteo challenged.

“You’re pathetic,” Ander told him, sneering.

A second later, Matteo’s fist made contact with Ander’s face.

Reina gasped.

Ander retaliated by punching Matteo back, landing a hit on his nose.

Before Reina could do anything, Noel joined in the fight by shoving Ander hard.

“Guys, stop!” Reina shouted.

Guzmán and Polo materialized seemingly out of nowhere, brushing past Reina to attack Matteo and Noel.

And for a moment, Reina could only stare at the explosive scene before her, horrified beyond belief.


End file.
